The End is Where We Begin
by HaloKeres-Chan
Summary: My name is Amy Rose. At least, that's what I had thought. I thought I'd erased all emotions and locked away this heart of mine. So what was this ache in my chest? It most certainly wasn't pain, or that Curse of the Banished Angel or whatever. What was it? I know now. It was because Amy Rose died.
1. Prologue

The End is Where We Begin

Prologue

 _I'm not sure how long it has been this way. All I know is we have to keep running. The demons are there, waiting. Among them my childhood crush. Hard to believe the world's hero fell to such an evil. He's beaten the God of Destruction, Mephiles, Solaris, and so many more. So how could he fall so easily? How could someone so strong be so...weak? He was defeated. We waited for him, and we still are, but we have to keep running._

 _Everything is fading. Disappearing in the darkness of night. Stars dying and the moon shattering. The sky changing from baby blue to the white darkness erasing our universe. We're all that's left, the three of us. The Survivors, as we call ourselves. The last remainder of the Mobian population. Everyone vanished, from the King to even Eggman himself. We're all that's left._

 _Honestly, it's kind of funny, to imagine that a six year old rabbit, an eight year old kitsune, and a twelve year old hedgehog survived such a massacre where even the Ultimate Life Form had fallen. We're a mere fraction of the resistence we used to be. We used to be such a strong team with...Sonic on our side._

 _Sonic..._

 _That name haunts me to this day. He may as well be a fallen angel with the courage and determination of a demon. He put himself in danger without a second thought. He fell to a darkness I thought would never consume him. He died. He died just weeks ago. I could shed no tears. I could not feel sorrow. Is this what I've become? I was once head over heels for him, and now, I don't give a crap. Something changed._

 _How could he? How could he leave us behind when he took someone weaker than us with him. He left us so we could bite his dust._

 _Traitor._

 _Enemy._

 _Rival._

 _Liar._

 _Façade._

 _The whole package. He truly was a fallen angel. I could picture the bloody and bruised wings, the shattered halo. I could imagine him falling to the depths of darkness and flames. I had fallen in love with a fallen._

 _He betrayed his friends. His home. His...family. We had been such a close knit bunch of people at random, and yet, we became as close as close could ever be. Yet, he threw it all away like a broken toy. How could he be so cruel?_

 _How can he be so...convincing? Persuasive? He betrayed his little brother, he betrayed me. Sonic...you bastard._

 _The vague memory of leaving us behind still empowers the anger and fury coursing through my veins._

 ** _"Are you sure you can handle this ALL by yourself?" I asked him worriedly. I grabbed his arm and held it to my chest. Sonic merely stared at me with those kind jade eyes. "Not ALL by myself, Ames. You know that. I'm taking the others with me." He replied. I pulled away. "So you think it's fair to leave us behind? Do you think we're THAT weak?" I saw Sonic turn away from me, and a single drop of sweat slid down his forehead. "W-Well...I..." He thought we were weak. He thought that Tails, Cream, and I were WEAK. We held up this long didn't we?! I pushed away from the azure hedgehog. "How could you! Yo think we're weak?!" Sonic put his hands up in defense. "Look, it's not like that! I just want you safe!" I didn't bother anymore. I turned away and ran for my hut. The words still flowed through my head with increasing volume. They grew louder and louder._**

 ** _I couldn't take anymore. Everything I had of him...I didn't bother say his name. The picture frames, the white rose he gave me, the little crafts and gifts...I threw them out. Into the trash can, down the toilet, out the window, ANYWHERE. My Ex-Hero of my Dreams exist no more. He had crushed me. My future. He thought I was weak. That I was helpless little girl that stalked him everyday._**

 ** _A knock echoed on my door. I ran down the stairs, and yelled, "Coming!" I stumbled towards the door, and regained my balance after snatching the doorknob. I wiped my forehead, twisted the knob, and instantly felt someone jump on me. Judging by the amber fur and twin tails, I knew it was Tails. Tears stained my clothes as Tails wrapped his arms tighter around me. "A-Amy! S-S-Sonic he..." The kitsune broke off as I stroked his fur. "Tails...I know he's leaving. And I know he's leaving us behind. He thinks that we're weak, he even admitted it to me." Tails gasped. "H-He...thinks that we-we're...weak?" My turquoise eyes locked onto his baby blue ones. Regretfully, I nodded._**

 ** _"Mr. Sonic think we're weak?" A high voice asked from the doorway. I looked up to see a sobbing cream rabbit holding a tiny chao in her arms. "Yes, Cream. I'm sorry." The little rabbit ran into my arms, and the three of us hugged and cried for what must've been hours._**

 ** _"Bastard...we will never forget what you did."_**

* * *

I stepped down the arced steel hallways of this ruined G.U.N. Carrier, dwindling on and on about how Sonic had betrayed us. He was lying to us. He had actually left us behind, thinking we were weak.

Searching through the arsenals of weaponry, I found my Piko Piko Hammer. But I made a few "upgrades". The hammer now had steel spikes sticking off either side, and a strip of leather wrapped around the handle for a grip. Taking the weapon in my hands, I slung it over my shoulder and left for the control room.

Tails, as usual, was using the digital archive to figure Sonic's location and how we could stop the universe from seizing to exist. Cream was on the other side, writing out maps and crafting blueprints for a new base. I walked over to Tails. "Any luck?" I asked. Tails rubbed his head. "I checked the skies and the rest of the world for any suspicious activity. The only place left we can look is underground." He explained. "Why is that?"

"It makes sense, really. Hiding away from the rest of the world, you know."

I placed a finger under my chin in thought.

"Hmmm...Makes sense."

"Should we go and give it a shot?"

"I guess. We have nowhere left to look and hiding will only kill us."

"Should I go prepare the weaponry?"

"Yeah. Get Cream's slingshot and find yourself a SIG Pro. You'll need a weapon in case your combat skills fail."

Tails exited. Cream tapped my shoulder. "Should I make a map of all the underground tunnels, Amy?" She asked. I sighed. "I guess. When you're done meet me in the C-Sector." Cream nodded and left to get some more ink for the maps. I yanked a hairtie off my wrist and pulled some of my quills into a ponytail. They had gotten a lot longer since the hair salon vanished. But never mind that.

Using a leather belt, I formed a sort of strap that attached to my hammer. I fastened the strap over my shoulder and around my waist and ran towards the C-Sector I told Cream to meet me at. I couldn't wait to move out. We may find Sonic and the others, and I'll have my revenge.

Sonic thinks he ended us.

Little does he know, that, for us, the end is where we begin.


	2. Warrior

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 1: Warrior

My head peeked out from behind the rock I was leaning against. Those demonic beings rampaged the lifeless, abandoned streets of New Mobotropolis. The piercing golden eyes would probably scare an average Mobian to death, but even an army of these monsters couldn't faze me.

The demons were my chance to find the Ex-Hero of My Dreams, and to save our planet from the brink of extinction. They were the key. I could find who is causing this catastrophe, and get revenge on my enemy.

"C'mon." I whispered. "Lead me there." Distorted faces turned to me, obviously able to hear even the tiniest of voices. I smirked. Some action. My hammer grasped in my hands, I stepped out from the pile of rubble, confidence locked on my face. "Finally some fun." I playfully whispered. With my hammer out, I charged, but stopped briefly after. I took a long stare at the demons before me. I reached into the pocket of my sweatpants and pulled out my heat sensor glasses. Small reddish orange blobs took the shape of people inside the monsters. I gasped and lifted the glasses off my face. Mobians were inside those beasts.

"I can't hurt them." I whispered. "Not innocent people." I dropped my hammer. I decided instead to use the magic power I adsorbed from a chaos emerald a while ago.

A faint glow illuminated the air around me. I balled my hands into fists and closed my eyes, trying to tap into the magic power inside me. A strange feeling rippled in my back, pulsating through me. Feathers flew in my face. I smiled.

I felt my buckled boots lift off the ground, my wings beating the air harshly. That innate of itself knocked a few demons off their feet. Wind whipped all around like a tornado, sending both pieces of debris and the monstrous Mobians whirling around. I looked down at my balled fists, which were now burning with vivid flames. A Phoenix made from the embers formed behind me, heating my wings and my now exposed back. I laced my hands together, and, muttering gibberish, threw the spheres of flames in either hand at the ground. Neither hit a beast, but that was what I was aiming for. The Phoenix arced forwards and dove towards the ground, eventually leaving a wave of violent crimson blossoms in its wake.

My feet landed firmly on the ground, and in doing so, my wings faded to small gold flickers of light, and at the same time, an impacting wave of air flew in all directions, extinguishing the bright orange and yellow flowers I had created. I turned a full 360° degrees circle, and found all the demonic beings lying face down on the ground. Not a single bruise or scratch was seen. I sighed in relief. That was what I intended; to not hurt anyone, just simply knock them out. And I did so.

A gust of wind flew behind me, and chills vibrated across my revealed back. Maybe I was a little _too_ reckless...? I pulled the _Browning_ sweatshirt from around my waist and slipped it on over my torn tank top. After that, I grabbed my cell phone from my sweatpants pocket and dialed Cream's number.

"Hello?" A high pitched voice answered. I inhaled a breath of relief. She was okay. "Cream?" I asked. I could imagine Cream's face of worry. "Are you alright?" She inquired worriedly.

"Yes Cream. I'm alright. Just had to deal with some demons. What about you?"

"Well, I fought some as well, and I discovered a familiar face."

My eyes widened the slightest fraction. "Who?" I asked, my hand curling tighter and tighter around the electronic device in my hand. The rabbit remained silent. "Who?" I repeated, agitated. "Do you really want to know?" Cream said. "Yes." I spoke calmly, even though my brain was screaming, _Yes! Yes! Yes!_

Cream took in a looooooong breath.

"I saw Sonic, Amy. I saw Sonic The Hedgehog."

* * *

My hand trembled, and the phone dropped from my hand. Sweat beaded on the side of my forehead. Sonic...I thought he died. He was supposedly dead...wasn't he? Dead. Murdered by an unknown monster. How did Cream see him _alive_? I knocked a fist against the ground, leaving a small dent in the pavement of the sidewalk. I gritted my teeth. He wasn't supposed to be alive!

My head jerked upwards at the sound of a...Sonic Boom...

"Show yourself!" I shouted. I reached for my hammer, but gasped when I found it had disappeared. "Amy." A cold, harsh voice spoke calmly from behind me. Numbness pricked my prone form. That voice...it's him. "Sonic." I whispered, cold as an ice rink.

"Amy, look at me." The cobalt hedgehog demanded. My left hand balled into a fist.

"Why should I? After what you've done?" I asked. A hand rested in my shoulder.

"I didn't mean any of those things I said to you." Sonic whispered in my ear. I overlapped Sonic's gloved hand with my own. My face was filled to the brim with confusion at his touch. It felt sick, twisted, cold. The Sonic I knew and remembered had a warm, loving touch. The realization hit hard, but I kept a firm face.

"You're not him." I whispered. "You're not the Sonic I knew." I imagined a smirk forming on Sonic's face.

"Amy..." The hedgehog whispered. His hand rose and drifted across the side of my neck up to my cheek. I snatched his wrist. A sickening laugh floated into my ears. "Of course I'm not. I'm the darkness controlling him." He spoke. I jerked. My turquoise eyes met his ...crimson ones? They were a mix of blood red and pale pink, with a thin black line to represent the pupil. A faint glow emanated from both irises. The hint of bloodlust showed so brightly. I turned my back on him.

"Who are you?" I asked. Sonic's hand drifted back down my shoulder and down my arm, until his hand overlaid my fist.

"I'm the darkness building up inside everyone's souls. I'm the flicker of an evil soul casting silhouettes. I'm murder itself." Sonic's voice replied. I pulled my hand away from the hedgehog.

"If you're darkness, are you inside me too?" I whispered. The gloved hand left mine.

"No. There's far too much light inside you, as well as the other two...Tails and Cream, as Sonic calls them, right?" Sonic's voice echoed. Anger boiled in my veins. "Don't speak evil with Sonic's face with Sonic's voice." I said. A hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me backwards. I landed in Sonic's arms. His scarlet eyes met mine. In a calm, frightening voice, he whispered:

"So you think that Sonic is one who walks the path of light? That he walks it with you? Oh...I'm afraid you're walking the path of the light alone."

* * *

So...what'd you think? Should I edit a bit more? What else? Please write a review!

Oh! Thank you, ChipTheCat, for reading my story! I also suggest you read Swapped Lives too! Thx!

~Halo the Hedgehog


	3. Those Emerald Eyes

The End Is Where We Begin

Chapter 2: Those Emerald Eyes

Amy's Arc

I remember...the way he used to make my heart pound with joy, with love and strength. That feeling when he took me in a loving embrace, when he smiled so lovingly. How his prescence could make my heart dance, my soul burst with sparking fireworks. Could it be all those moments were lies? That in truth, his heart was made of stone, that beneath his smile he was really scowling, that in all those hugs he felt the urge to strangle me? That the hero I know was just a mirage?

My breath slowly evened out, my clenched fists releasing into numb hands. The pain was gone, that feeling of being drained, but of what?

I shook my head. I couldn't focus on Sonic right now, not when Cream and Tails are out on their own. Sonic was the least of my problems right now. Tails and Cream are all that matter to me now.

With a trembling hand, I summoned my Piko Piko Hammer, and attached it to the strap I made not too long ago. My sea green eyes examined the area, realizing the demons I had fought earlier had disappeared, leaving no trace that they were here. Sonic had vanished. I groaned. Maybe, if he had stayed a little longer, I could've figured where he ran off to. Typical, always running from his problems, rather than facing them.

My grimace took on the hint of a lost smile as soon as I realized that we were one step closer to saving the universe that someone is so desperately trying to erase. When was the last time I had felt so happy? The joy I thought I felt with Sonic was nonexistent. The feeling he gave me was only one more reason to hate him.

I snatched my phone which I had dropped. Cracks had emerged here and there, but the device remained intact.

"Tails? Cream?" I asked calmly. _Please leave a voicemail for-_

I ended the call. Something happened. My hand shook uncontrollably. Sweat beaded on my forehead. If they die, I'll end up going on a murder spree, creating a continuous bloodbath, which is anything _but_ what I look forward to.

I leaned down towards my buckled boots. Pressing the small, camouflage button on my heel, I nearly tripped as wheels emerged, along with a small steel brake on the right side. With my new rollerblades, I skating as fast as I possibly could, towards the areas I assigned the two children to. Tails was-supposedly- searching through the scattered ruins of the Castle of Acorn, where Cream would wander the nearly dissolved Death Egg. If neither had answered their phones, then they must be together, fighting off someone-or, something.

Blood dripped from my lip, where my fangs were piercing the flesh so harshly. Wiping the coppery liquid off my muzzle, my ears twitched at the sound of a twisted cry. I shook, feeling the fear burning frustratingly in my heart. "Cream...I'll be there soon." I hoarsely whispered.

When I skidded to a stop, I felt like I was shot through the soul. The little rabbit had tears welling in her eyes, her voice releasing a strangled scream. Tails was laying limply to the side, passed out. My eyes enlarged at the sight of all the large purple bruises. Cream, with a grazed arm, hazel eyes wide with fear, watched as the cobalt hedgehog placed a hand across her face, a glowing scarlet light emitting from his glove. The rabbit's large brown eyes glazed over. Rage burning bright as a wildfire, I pulled out a pistol, and shot Sonic's shoulder. I wasn't ready to kill him yet; not until I was ready. Hard to believe I hurt the one I used to fangirl over. Still, Amy Rose, Sonic's Number One Fangirl, died 3 years ago, replaced by who I am today.

"Stop, Sonic the Hedgehog." I shouted. The cobalt turned to me, his glowing red irises eyeing me. A sick smile spread across his face. "Oh? Not calling me Sonikku anymore? Well, that's just sad." He said. "What were you doing to my friend?" I called out. Sonic dropped the unconscious rabbit. "Just adding some darkness into her heart. Of course, I tried Tails, but he fought back, to the point I deemed him useless." Sonic answered, breaking his gaze with me and staring at the beaten and bruised kitsune. Through gritted teeth, I growled, "Tails was your _brother_. How could you hurt him?"

It happened faster than I could keep track of. The sting burned one of my turquoise eyes, the pain scarred on me for life. It hurt. Yeah, it really did.

Shutting my left eyelid, I yanked my hammer out of its strap, readying myself for the next attack. Sonic charged at me head on. Swinging my hammer back, I swung, just like a baseball bat. I stayed entirely focused on hitting the corrupted blue blur. Until I saw that spark.

A hint of emerald and jade mixed together flickered, interfering with the crimson irises I saw, making me hesitate on harming the hedgehog, feeling that maybe who I remember could still be in there. Of course, that was a mistake.

The sharp ultramarine quills dug deep into my stomach, my blood spilling and sent soaring into the air. My cries were kept in just barely as the pain coursed rapidly through my veins.

Pain jolted my insides, even after Sonic jumped back, letting me stumble and fall to one knee. My gloved hands soaked with the liquid scarlet, pressuring the wound I had received.

"Sonic." I choked out. I was starting to think I was internally bleeding too. "Sonic. Who are you?" I asked in a strangled voice. The hedgehog was taken aback from my question. It seemed kind of surprising, knowing that usually nothing got through that thick skull of his. I'm starting to think he misunderstood my question.

Sonic stared at me, not attempting any movement. His pair of crimson eyes had a staring contest with my one, unharmed emerald one. "Who are you? Angel? Demon? Or...are you who I used to know?" I explained. Silence. A long silence. I turned away from Sonic, not wanting to look at him. "...Do you remember?" I finally spoke. A silent gasp. My head whipped back towards the him, realizing Sonic had one hand grabbing his head, while he fell to his knees. "N-no...don't-don't come near me." He whispered. My mouth fell open at the sight.

One iris flipped back to the bright, vivid green I remembered. It was only a brief moment, before Sonic retreated, a blue sonic boom exploding.

I stood, watching the trail of sapphire fade. He ran. Is there a reason why he's always running? Does he feel afraid? Angry? Free?...Loved?

No.

Sonic isn't loved, not after what he's done. Love holds romance, binds friends together, turns them into family.

Sonic doesn't know any better than I do what love is.

I don't know anything about love at all.


	4. Demon on the Inside

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 3: Demon On The Inside

"-my!"

"-ke up!"

My eyes fluttered open, revealing two blurry figures in my line of vision. The voices echoed in my pounding head, and numbnes pricked my sides.

The blurs vanished, replaced by sharp lines, colors melting in between, like crayons and a coloring page. A rabbit and a kitsune hovered above. "Tails...Cream..." I croaked. Both sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you're alright, Amy." Cream smiled sympathetically. I sat up, shifting my weight onto my elbows.

"What happened?" I asked. "Well, we both woke up simultaneously, and saw you unconscious. S...Sonic was holding onto you and-"

I cut Tails off. "Wait, _Sonic_ was holding me? That...that traitor?" I gritted my teeth. "Don't speak his name in my presence." I breathed. I placed a hand on my forehead, closed my eyes, and let out a deep, pent-in breath. I pushed my large, tangled bangs out of my face. Blood dripped down the side of my wrist. Confusion warped the features on my face. A large stain of blood lay in the palm of my glove, although I didn't know where it came from. A gasp came from my friends.

"Amy!" Both chorused in shock, pointing to my eye. "Y-Your eye!"

Questioningly, I placed my hand over what they were pointing to. When liquid scarlet spilled down my wrist. That stinging feeling still pounded there. The feeling of pain.

"Your eye is red!" Cream cried. I turned away, putting my clean hand in front of my face. "Don't look at me. I'll see for myself." I whispered.

I pushed myself up. I stumbled a bit, but I managed. Through the debris that lay around us, I found a shattered piece of glass. I picked it up, looking at my reflection. A gasp escaped my lips.

"...what...happened...?"

My iris glowed a bright scarlet, rivaling the color of blood. My pupil thinned to a slit, a small glow emanating from it. It matched Sonic's. Then there was the crimson. Blood stained my sakura quills, dripping down the strands and the sides of my face. There was no wound that I could see, but the liquid rubies just kept appearing.

 _Demon._

 _Monster._

 _Mistake._

The words just kept echoing in my head.

 _Demon._

 _Monster._

 _Mistake._

 _Demon._

 _Monster._

 _Mistake..._

Anger welled up inside me, and I threw the glass at the ground, shattering it once more.

"Sonic...what did you do to me?" I whispered icily. My fist connected to a steel wall. "What did you do?!" I exclaimed with a strangled cry. What had he done? What? And... _why?_

The tears welled inside. How long has it been since I cried? Three years? That's when this massacre of death and betrayal started.

My fist uncurled, and I slipped to the ground weakly. A single tear dripped down my cheek, leaving a white trail when it dried. My emotional mask faded.

A memory of him appeared. The bright, lively green irises. The trademark thumbs-up he always gave. His smile...

 _Lies._

The boy I had fallen in love with isn't real. He's a demon. Sonic seemed like an angel, only to reveal his demonic traits. He trapped me in a reality I didn't belong in. That alone is unforgivable.

Placing my hand on one knee, I stood up, summoning my Piko Piko Hammer. I yanked my crimson-stained gloves off. "Tails. Cream. Let's go. Our mission failed." I stared into the white sky that was no longer blue. I reached a bare hand into the sky.

I'll be the one to make it blue again.

* * *

Blood stained the towel again. How much of it remained on my pale face?

Once again, I rinsed the towel, and soaked up the scarlet. Strange, how three years ago, I would scream at the sight, and now, I don't even bat an eye. This soul-shattering war changed me. I don't care about the sight of blood, I use weapons that were once illegal, I lost my emotions...

I don't care about who I kill. How many lives have I taken since then? Since...Sonic...

My hands slammed down upon the bathroom counter, towel in hand. Since Sonic killed him. He killed him. The day is still so clear...

* * *

 _"What do you mean 'dark will always conquer the light'?" He asked questioningly. Sonic's crimson eyes revealed no sign of reverting._

 _"Simple. I'm part of the dark. You are the light." He spoke plainly, a sword made of vicious black and violet appearing in his hands. Sonic stabbed him, the liquid rubies staining the ground forever. He doubled over, his sight of Sonic vanishing into blurs._

 _"Which means I will always conquer you." The blade vanished, a sonic boom evidently pointing out the blue hedgehog was gone. Not that he noticed it, of course. The cries of his friends drowned out. The pink hedgehog scrambled over, catching him before he fell face-first into the ground._

 _He stopped breathing instantly, unable to speak the unspoken words he hid from her._

 _ **I love you. I will forever more.**_

* * *

The towel crashed into the trash, the blood on my face nothing more than memory. Sonic killed him. He's a murderer. Not that I'm one to talk. I have blood on my hands as well. Some of it mine, some from others.

But the most came from him. A boy I knew who loved me, but never gained the will to say it. Still, I already knew it. He loved me from the moment he first laid eyes on me. While those three words remain unknown, his now lifeless eyes explain it all.

I opened the window in my bedroom, staring up into the white night sky. It really wasn't night, considering "night" itself was erased long ago. The clock read 2:26 in the morning.

My hand unconsciously grabbed the scarlet-stained golden ring I refused to clean or throw away. I stared at it, despair taking me over. Never could I forgive Sonic for what he's done. The murderer I thought I knew.

The ring was flung into my pocket. I zipped it shut. I yanked a paper out of an old notebook and began writing. The pencil rolled off the desk a minute later.

The Piko Piko Hammer slung over my shoulder, the inhibitor ring in my pocket, I threw myself out my window, breaking out into a run instantly after landing.

Why I left them behind, I don't know. But if they stay safe and alive, it'll be worth it. With a new darkness in my soul because of Sonic, it would be best if I chased after the blue hedgehog on my own. After all, he's what destroyed everything I cared for.

My soul.

My heart.

My friends.

My family.

Sonic murdered Shadow, the immortal, all-powerful, Ultimate Life Form. The boy who loved me but kept it inside. If Sonic could kill an immortal, just what other power does he hold?

I need to find out, use it against him. Save the universe from extinction. Save its people. Even if I must make sacrifices.

 _Dear Cream and Tails,_

 _I'm going out on my own. Don't follow me, or I won't hesitate in killing you. You may mean everything to me, but I lost everything. I will avenge Shadow for us. I will avenge everyone else. Mark my words, I **will** kill Sonic the Hedgehog, and there is nothing you two can do about it. That is a promise. One I can't afford to break. If the world is saved at the costs of Sonic's life, then so be it._

 _-Amy, a murderer in disguise._


	5. Don't Underestimate Me

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 4: Don't Underestimate Me

 _Blood filling my line of vision. The unknown cries of people I don't know. Someone reaching out their hand to me. **His** kind face, offering me that softly glowing white rose, before morphing into an expression filled to the brim with insanity, a creepy smile warping his features._

I jolted, my muscles instantly tensing. I heard my ragged breaths, felt the sweat dripping coldly down my face. Just...what was that?

I placed an unsteady hand over my face, pushing away my bright pink bangs. Was that a memory of sorts? A nightmare? A vision? Impossible. It certainly wasn't a memory. I would've remembered. Considering how pathetic I am, it couldn't be a vision. Clairvoyance is only granted to those with actual talent. So, that concludes it was a nightmare, despite I was awake the whole time.

"Well if it isn't the Hammer-Happy Hedgehog."

This did not bother me. Sonic seems to have a knack for finding girls with excessively large hammers.

"Shut it, Blue Boy. I don't need your opinion." I waved away Sonic's little joke. Strange how he could still be evil and say the stupidest things.

...Like he used to.

"And why does Sonic's opinion not matter to you? Remember, the boy I've taken over used to be the center of your life." Sonic's voice morphed into the one I heard when he admitted being controlled by someone else.

In the span of three seconds, I summoned my hammer, tackled the blue hedgehog to the ground, and seized him by the throat. Yet he still had audacity to smirk.

"You take that back right now, you bastard. Sonic was not the center of my life. He ripped my soul apart too many times. If anything, my life had no meaning until now." I growled through clenched teeth.

"Sonic may have hurt you, but you still forgave him, didn't you?" Sonic's voice pointed out. I flinched. Yeah, that was true. But that didn't mean I cared.

"Sonic's meant everything to you. No matter what you tell yourself, or what you think, your true objective is to save the blue hedgehog." His voice continued. I loosened my grasp, surprised by his words.

"Shut the hell up! I don't give a crap about Sonic. What he's done is unforgivable." I shouted at Sonic's face. That's when I noticed his left eye was still emerald from when it flipped back.

"Your eye. It's green." I stated in a rather stupid-and awkward-way.

Sonic bit his lip.

"Is it because you still remember? Or is it because you're trying to throw me off?" I asked, pushing the handle of my hammer tighter against the blue hedgehog's throat.

"...he's fighting back. Simple as that." He muttered. My ears struggled to hear that. "What was that?" I leaned in closer, despite the light pink tainting my cheeks.

"His true consciousness. He's struggling to regain control." Sonic rephrased.

"And what does that mean?"

"Why should I tell you?" A smirk formed playfully on his lips. I gritted my teeth in frustration. Careful as not to let Sonic escape my grasp, I pulled out a chaos emerald. Sonic gasped.

"That's right, Sonic. I have more power than you could ever hope to gain. Don't underestimate me. Amy Rose, long since a warrior. Chaos Control."

And the flash of light engulfed me, and I swear, I could see the slightest fraction of fear in Sonic's eyes.

* * *

The hammer gathered up more dirt and dust as I dragged it harshly across the ground. I was so stupid to not bring my strap with me!

"Where was that route that Tails was talking about?" I muttered to myself. If only I could find where all those monsters-and Sonic-were hiding. The world's fate seems most likely to end. I'm this universe's only chance, if any.

 _His true consciousness. He's struggling to regain control._

I wiped sweat off my forehead. Just what did he mean? The Sonic I knew was a fake. Does he mean that Sonic's true conscious is trying to regain control over that darkness? Or has he been fighting it all this time behind my back?

I groaned loudly to emphasize my annoyance, despite the fact that know one could here me. Why did this have to happen? Why did someone just have to try to erase the universe?

My hand instinctively lingered over my chest. The universe is almost completely gone. Yet, in these last three years, no progress has been made. Tails, Cream, and I were afraid to fight. It was us against the world. Heh, reminds me of that one song by Simple Plan.

A smile tugged on my lips. How I wished I could hear that song, Me Against the World, one more time. Music seemed distant, as though it never existed, only parts of fragments of memory.

I felt a strange pressure against my chest, making me claw against it. There seemed to be no pain, yet I felt as though I couldn't breathe.

 **She died.**

I gasped for air, relieved that weight on my chest—literally—lifted. But the two words an anonymous voice whispered still echoed in my head. Who died exactly? Did they mean Rouge? Blaze? I know for certain they're dead. Rouge was crushed under the debris of the Death Egg from yesterday. Thank god we still haven't found her body. Blaze was captured by those from the evil side, experimented on until the day her body could no longer handle the drugs and the surgeries repeatedly performed on her. I winced, realizing a fate such as hers was a fate far worse than death.

Blaze. Rouge. Everyone. They're all dead. How could I ever repay for Sonic for causing all of them?

A vibration in my pocket made me jump.

Pulling out my cracked phone, I identified the Caller I.D. as Tails.

"The hell do you want, Tails?" I growled.

 _ **"Is this Amy Rose?"**_

My hammer collapsed to the ground.


	6. Got Away With Murder

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 5: Got Away With Murder

 _"Amy?" A voice spoke, a hand tugging on the bottom of my skorts. I turned. The little rabbit stared up at me with those big, doe-like brown eyes of hers. Even for someone like me, a girl with a cold enough demeanor to frighten a demon, that little gaze was enough to relax my tense muscles._

 _"What is it?" I asked. The rabbit blushed slightly, suddenly folding her hands behind her back. "U—Um...are you sure I can do this? Navigating tunnels and creating maps is something I've never done before." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes._

 _This little rabbit was very fragile, that much I can tell. It makes sense though, ever since her mother was caught in an explosion and killed by it, it makes sense as to why she tears up at the simplest things._

 _Instinctively, I placed my gloved hand upon her head, and rubbed it like an owner would to a pet. The rabbit's tears dried as she stared at me in surprise._

 _"It's okay,__ _. I'll help you."_

* * *

Each memory and scene passed though my eyes, where I witnessed them, before they were tugged away into the darkness. Where did they go? I can't remember, I can't picture, I can't even recall their _names._ Who are they? Who...who are the two comrades that have stayed by my side?

Every memory of them flashed before my eyes, before disappearing into the darkness, beyond the reach of my hand. Who are they? And why am I so afraid of losing them?

Sweat dotted my forehead as I stumbled across this wasteland in search of a place I don't remember. My legs seemed to pull me through places that I didn't recognize. Could it be that my body knows more about them than I myself do?

Every time a memory flashed, it would soon be stolen away by some invisible culprit. Never have I experienced something such as this. Everything about them—their faces, their smiles, their names—I forgot all of it.

I stopped running. What was I going after? I know I was trying to get somewhere, but _where_? What was I just thinking about? **Who** was I thinking about? What is going on?

"You've forgotten them, haven't you?"

"What have you done, Sonic?" I asked the blue hedgehog. While I couldn't see him, I knew he was there. He was hidden from my sight, toyng with me like I'm some kind of doll. He must be responsible for what happened. I'm sure.

"Nothing really. Just did what you wrote in that note of yours." Sonic replied casually. My hand balled into a fist. I'm trapped in a universe that's getting erased, and this is how he acts? Makes sense, since this hedgehog's heartless. _Correction_ : he's a soulless traitor that enjoys toying with my feelings.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "What note, exactly?"

"Please don't tell me you forgot that too."

"Fortunately, I did."

"Really? So you call it fortunate that you forgot Tails and Cream?"

I silently gasped. _Tails? Cream? ...who are they?_

Something flashed in my head. The blurred figures of two people. Who were they? Why can't I recognize them?

"Maybe these can help you remember?" Sonic asked, and I could just _imagine_ the cruel smile painted on his face. And just like that, a white light filled my line of vision. Even for someone like me, who could withstand the blinding light in the sky for three years, this light was _bright._

As the light faded, and my eye sight returned to normal, I noticed two bodies before me. A cream-colored rabbit...a twin-tailed kitsune...

Tails, and Cream. Those are their names. But why can't I remember anything otherwise? Which is Tails? Which is Cream? Something urked me, though I couldn't figure what. These two...

Now that I think about it, there are empty holes in my memory. Like, in some memories, I feel as though someone else should be there. What changed?

Something ignited in my memory. The letter that I wrote.

 _Dear Cream and Tails,_

 _I'm going out on my own. Don't follow me, or I won't hesitate in killing you. You may mean everything to me, but I lost everything. I will avenge Shadow for us. I will avenge everyone else. Mark my words, I **will** kill Sonic the Hedgehog, and there is nothing you two can do about it. That is a promise. One I can't afford to break. If the world is saved at the cost of Sonic's life, then so be it._

 _-Amy, a murderer in disguise._

I remember now. It all makes sense.

"I see. You erased my memories of these two, didn't you? Then, you killed them." I understood. Sonic killed these two, to see if it could break me, shatter what's left of my soul, erase the façade I've spent years creating. Well, he failed. I found that I didn't cry for them, out of despair and rage. Instead, the first plaguing thought that entered my head was:

 _They only died because they were weak._

The next:

 _I didn't save them because I left them alone._

These thoughts contaminated me, like a virus, spreading through my body and destroying the emotions I spent so much time trying to understand; joy, sadness, anger. I felt none of it. All because of this d*mned boy who wanted to see me suffer.

"Say, Sonic. Why would you erase my memories? Make me slightly amnesiac? Did you want me to suddenly remember and start crying?" I muttered, kneeling down next to Cream and Tails.

"Far from it." The blue hedgehog answered. I whipped around, instinctively wondering if he would be there.

"What?" I asked. A sudden hand snatched my wrist. I looked, and saw...Tails, grasping my hand. His eyes were no longer blue like I remember. They were just like Sonic's—though I saw no sign of his true consciousness fighting back to regain control.

"Tails—" I started, but I never finished as he delivered a blow to my stomach. I nearly choked on my own saliva.

A punch to the face. A kick in the gut. A stab in the left side of my hip.

The attacks continued. And eventually, Cream joined this melee. She repeatedly kicked my back, making me gasp for air each time.

Everything faded. The world went silent, save for Sonic's sick laughs, echoing through my head.

I vaguely noticed the ground I was laying on. Amidst it all, I heard Sonic's voice in my ears.

 _"How does it feel?"_

I lost consciousness, my body bloody, exhausted, and—

 ** _Broken._**


	7. Sweet and Soulless

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 6: Sweet and Soulless

For as long as I can remember, there has always been a dark side of me. A part of me that could only be accessed through negative feelings, like despair, rage, even a bewitched trait like insanity.

Whenever I unleashed it, all my common sense and hesitant thoughts vanished, replaced by the sadistic desire of wanting to kill, to see blood spill like paint on a canvas. My friends always said things like "Snap out of it Amy!" or "This isn't you!"

Oh, how wrong they were. They didn't know that I was fully aware of my actions when I became dark, that I was fully in control of my body. I _enjoyed_ harming others, watching them scream in pain and sheer terror. I would attack, and stop only a second away from ripping their throats out, just so I could see them process the fear of possibly dying. They thought I was hesitating when things like that happened, but I only stopped because I loved seeing fear.

The pleasure I felt is indescribable, a feeling only seen as one thing: sadistic. When I snapped back to my sense after times like those, I pretended to cry, shed fake tears to make it look like I hated myself for something like that. But deep inside, deep in my thoughts, I found myself inwardly smiling in joy. I loved the sight of death, of torture. When I saw things such as that, I pretended that I felt hatred to whoever did that. But truth be told, I wanted to do the suffering myself. Sad, isn't it? Oh wait, no it isn't. I'm a sadist, after all.

Sadist. What a brutal word to use for a warrior like me. Warrior. Such a flattering title for a useless girl like me. Not that it makes a difference to me. Someone once called me a monster. Another called me a demon. Someone else said I was hell bound. They said I was the epitome of a darkness darker than that of a black hole, that I housed a living hell in my soul, that the chaotic powers I wield come from the flames or purgatory. So what if I do? So what if I'm a Mobian with the nature of a demon? It wouldn't make a difference, now that I am who I am. I could care less what they call me.

They can call me an angel, a demon. But the truth is that I fit in neither category. My murderous and dark nature could name me a fallen angel at best, but not even that could qualify as my title. A beast from the hell beneath Mobius wouldn't fit my title either. Even a devil could be considered innocent when compared to me. The crimes I've committed dive far deeper than any ocean, any wound from a sword, any chance of redemption. If I'm not a demon, nor am I an angel. I'm mortal. But at the same time, I'm not. I lost my mortality, my Mobian blood ages ago. That's what makes me a mortal, a Mobian.

"Amy?" A voice whispered eerily. "Wake up." I wanted to open my eyes, but the strength in me seemed to have faded to close to nothing.

"Wake up."

I released a pent-in breath, my chest no longer tense and stiff.

"Wake up."

Weakly, I cracked my eyes open a sliver, seeing nothing but a blinding light and my sakura-colored bangs, which were spread all over my face.

"Wake up."

"Shut up, whoever you are." I croaked, my voice rocky and unbalanced.

"Wow. Surprising you can even speak." The voice stated, changing to a monotonous sounding voice.

"Flattery won't work on me." I shot back, shifting my weight onto my weak elbows.

"You sound exactly like her. The voice, the attitude, the looks, all of it. A perfect replica of her."

My eye twitched. Who's _her_ exactly? This anonymous person was talking about me like I was some sort of experiment. A specimen. Like hell I could be something like that.

"Now how could I be a replica of someone? I have memories, emotions, thoughts, a _living, beating_ heart." I pointed out, shifting my gaze to my surroundings, searching for the person this voice belonged to.

This voice sounded grim, deep, husky. A slight darkness and pain hinted in it. And...a vaguely familiar feeling flowed through my skin. The aura emanating around me...was awfully reminding of him.

I reached for the inhibitor ring in my pocket, thankful it was still there. The same, crimson-coated ring that belonged to a hedgehog trapped in an unrequited love. How tragic.

"Ah, so you've finally found it. I've been looking for my other ring for ages." The voice said, making me stiffen. His other ring...

It couldn't—it couldn't be...

A gloved hand reached toward the golden bracelet-like item in my hands, but I clutched it to my chest and attempted to back away, though the muscles in my legs still hadn't regained their strength.

The hand grasped my wrist and yanked. Hard. I cried out upon hearing a crack in my right forearm. This pain—this feeling—I _enjoyed_ it, despite the numbness coursing through my veins. Right next door to the adrenaline burning apart my insides.

Oh, this pain, this suffering, I've wanted to inflict this on myself, for so, so long. I couldn't do it in the past—the others would've gotten suspicious of me. Oh, thank god that I can finally feel Suffering's chains tugging on my limbs, my neck, strangling me to the point I could only breathe in the scent of blood and war.

The golden ring, with crimson blossoms splashed on it, slipped through my gloved fingers, hitting the floor and rolling toward the very same hand which broke my arm.

"It's great to see you again, Amy Rose." The voice finally spoke, a figure grasping the ring and slipping it onto his wrist, around a ink and scarlet colored cuff.

"Hey Shadow. It's been awhile, since you died, I mean." I greeted, my features not wavering.

Shadow walked out from the shadows of the corner, just like his name implies. "Let's begin our little reunion, shall we?"


	8. Torturous Pleasure

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 7: Torturous Pleasure

I'm surprised I'm not surprised. All this time, I thought Shadow was dead, killed by the hedgehog I thought I loved. I thought Shadow had left this world. So it's surprising I'm not surprised by the fact that Shadow's alive.

I'm not one for religion, but I thought Shadow would have a halo by now. He would've been in Heaven—well, that's what a religious person would say. I don't really believe in any so called afterlife. When someone dies, they die. That's it for me. Nothing else otherwise.

"Tell me—how are you still alive? I witnessed you die in my arms—or so the saying goes." I said, rubbing my hand over my broken wrist. It was amazing, this pain. I guess that means I've changed. Three years ago, I would've been angry at myself for being weak, or I would've been crying out of pain. But now, I've morphed into someone with a "sadistic" nature, you could say. The pain was more like pleasure.

"I was never dead in the first place." Shadow answered, taking my broken wrist in his hands—covered with gloves that were coated with blood. He rubbed his hand against mine.

"I never died. I had merely lost my consciousness. If you had decided to check my pulse instead, then maybe things would've been different." Shadow continued. My heart skipped a beat.

"So I thought you were dead for three years." I whispered, before laughing hollowly. "How pathetic of me. To think that an immortal had died at the hands of a weak traitor like him? Pathetic."

"Indeed." Shadow replied, gently grabbing my other hand. He quickly twisted it to a very bizarre angle that made me cry out. Not out of pain, but out of the joy of feeling it. Pain is the one thing that actually makes me feel alive. That makes me feel mortal. If I were human, I would've said this makes me feel human. Unbelievable. Strange how much can change in just a few years time.

Shadow stood up, leaving me on my knees with my two broken arms. "Just taking precautions. I don't need you swinging your hammer around in here." He said, before snatching my two useless limbs.

He then lifted me into the air, and threw me into the wall. All in a quick second.

The breath escaped my lungs, and the brick behind me morphed into the shape of my body.

It was breathtaking, even though all the air in my lungs had vanished. The shock of hitting the wall, the pain of the stone crushing my back side with a brutal force, the numbness of crumbling to the floor, unable to move. Oh, I loved it. So much that hoped he would continue.

I blinked blearily, and attempted to move my arms. A sudden foot landed on top of them, pinning my arms to the ground.

"Why did she have to die? Why did you have to come into existence?" Shadow asked me, removing his foot and kneeling next to my head. He ran a hand through my tangled pink bangs, effectively pushing them out of my face.

"Why are you even alive?" He continued his strange questions, though they fell upon deaf ears. My ears had gone silent the moment I heard that question.

The world around me silenced. Why _am_ I alive? Why do I exist? Who am I again? Who was I before this? Where did I come from? What made my life take such a turn? How did I end up here? When did I realize how messed up the world is?

So many questions, yet I don't know, or remember for that matter, the answers.

My name is Amy Rose. I use the Piko Piko Hammer. My now dead friends are Miles "Tails" Prower and Cream Rabbit. I was betrayed by the hedgehog I thought I loved, who turned out to be nothing more than extra baggage.

That's it. That's all I know. Nothing about where I was born, where I was raised, who my family is, how I found myself here.

I don't know anything about myself. My hobbies, my interests, my parents, hell, even my age—I don't know any of it.

"Shadow, what do you know about me?" I inquired, watching as the ink-colored hedgehog stopped his random questioning. He seemed a bit surprised for moment, but I deemed it as an illusion since he's never surprised.

Shadow took in a nearly microscopic breath, it was so small, and sat down in front of me. He placed his hand on my face, just beneath my cheek.

"I know a bit about Amy Rose, but nothing about you." Shadow replied, sliding his palm down to my neck, keeping his hand still has a small shiver traveled down my spine.

"Tell me about Amy Rose, then." I demanded, even though it didn't sound like it.

The hedgehog traced his hand along my arm, leaving goosebumps wherever his fingers touched.

"Amy Rose was a 12 year old, immature little brat who always mistook me for the blue blur I call Faker. She enjoyed spending time with her friends. She never made sense of anything I said, taking it as an opportunity to make friends with me. Of course, that's what made me fall in love with her." Shadow breathed the last part, but I still heard it.

"Amy Rose was always getting captured or manipulated in some sort of way. She was accident prone, you could say. But I loved that about her as well. I loved everything about her, even though I had said I hated her, that she should just go die." His hand landed on the back of mine, before gripping it tightly.

"I never confessed. I never said I loved her. That I thought we could be together forever. I never said because I hated her. I hated her. I loved her. So many things changed me thanks to her." Shadow finished his statement by releasing his grip on my arm.

"What else was there?" I asked, feeling a strange burning sensation in my chest. The burning sensation of a familiarity with this girl.

"Nothing. Nothing else." Shadow said, standing up.

I moved from my position on the floor.

"Wait." I demanded, grasping his wrist.

The sudden realization made me gasp, and let go. There was something different about his hand.

As much as I didn't want to, I wrapped my arms and embraced Shadow. I placed my hand over his heart as I did so.

I knew it. My suspicion was correct.

Shadow...

He didn't have a heartbeat. No pulse either.


	9. Corruption Dwelling Within

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 8: Corruption Dwelling Within

No heartbeat. No pulse. Nothing.

I knew it.

Shadow's still dead.

He always was.

He always will be.

"You're still dead, aren't you?" I asked coldly. "You were revived, just like Tails and Cream, correct?"

Silence. Pure silence, save for our ragged breaths.

I don't remember a silence that felt quite like this. It felt...nice. But it awfully reminded me of the empty memories of joy that I never felt.

"Are you ever going to let go of me?" Shadow finally spoke, his voice dark. I looked down, realizing my hands were still wrapped across his torso, one of my hands over his—no longer beating—heart.

I released my grip on him, backing up a few steps. Of course he would avoid the question, I thought. I didn't realize I was blushing until I hit the cold wall. The heat in my face only rose. When was the last time I had felt such an emotion? When was the last time I had felt humiliation and embarrassment? Could it be that I'm becoming alive again?

"You're correct." Shadow interrupted by thoughts, turning to me. "Indeed, I was revived, but it doesn't change anything. Unlike Sonic or Cream or Tails, I managed to maintain my individuality among all the others, managed to keep my soul and my control over my own body. This may be because I'm not an actual living being, but I was created to be a weapon."

The hedgehog grasped my hand tightly, careful to avoid harming me any longer. "But now, it doesn't change anything, since now, we're going to fix this mess. What is dead will stay dead, but we can at least prevent those still alive from dying. This world needs to go on, or I'd be breaking my promise to Maria." He spoke with a rocky voice.

I'm amazed. Shadow actually gained the will to talk about Maria. Wait, how do I know who Maria is if I don't know who I am myself? Unbelievable, that I know more about a person long since dead, rather than myself.

"So you want to stop whatever's easing the universe? With my help?" I put the pieces together, trying to understand what he meant. Even though I was trying to save the world myself, without Tails' and Cream's help, I didn't really stand much of a chance now. This world's done for anyway. At most, the universe will last a month, before it's completely erased.

"If you want my help, why did you break both my arms? I'm practically useless now." I shifted my jade eyes down to my forearms, which were bent at odd angles, and were now swelling.

Shadow moved his fingers up my arms. "Use it. That chaotic power of yours. I know you have a Chaos Emerald inside you, to power your very being, your very soul. It gives you the power of a phoenix, the bird said to rebirth from its own ashes."

I barely held back a laugh at his cheesy, cryptic message. Wait a second, a _laugh_? What is going on with me?

"Put simply, you're saying that I could heal myself if I activated my powers?"

Shadow nodded.

Hoping he was right, I took a breath, and closed my eyes.

I felt it. The power the swelled in my body, my soul, my mind. The feeling was everywhere, spreading through every particle and molecule that made up my body. The taste of it was inexplicably...strengthening. All I needed was to make it aware of my wounds, and it would take care of the rest.

One of my eyes opened, and I saw Shadow staring at my arms, emotionless. I noticed a golden glow emanating from my body, surging and coursing through every vein, every artery, every part of me. It truly was, inexplicable.

Glancing at my reflection in Shadow's crimson eyes, I noticed something strange. I opened both my eyes to check, and it turned out I was right. My left eye...

The entire iris was deep shade of vermilion, almost like a pool of blood. My cornea was a frightening black, and my eye seemed to shedding tears of blood. Such a horrifying sight. Especially since my other eye remained normal. What on Mobius was going on with me?

Shadow's hand latched onto my cheek, grabbing some of my tangled pink quills with it.

"I see. So that's what's happening to you." He concluded, before stroking my quills in a strange manner. Was there a reason he was acting this way towards me? Perhaps a message or signal of sorts?

The moment I stopped using my powers, I felt my forearms, and flexed my limbs. To my utter dismay, they were completely healed.

The black hedgehog released his grip on me, turned towards the wall, and punched it. The stone toppled over, creating clouds of dust as they did so. Shadow grabbed me, just as he had done several times before.

"We're getting out of here." He stated, pulling me through the hole he made, before activating his skates. I too activated mine, to make sure we wouldn't lose each other. Even though that sounds strange, there were Mobians everywhere, limping around as though they were zombies. Thankfully, none of whom I recognized.

"Why are you helping me? It's clear that you are on Sonic's side." I spoke quietly, slowing to stop once the zombie-like beings faded into the distance. It seemed strange. Looking back at the creatures I saw over the horizon, there were far more than I had ever seen before. Perhaps I came across their base when I woke up in that cell.

Shadow let go of me, and continued skating farther and farther ahead of me. I didn't bother trying to catch up to him. After all, I knew where he was heading.

Eyeing the...things I saw before, I winced, remembering that my former friends and comrades were somewhere among them. Until then, I didn't know how heavy of a burden I was carrying. Anyone I had ever known and trusted, they were all mindless slaves hidden among that sea of faces. The hedgehog I had once fallen in love with betrayed everything we had sought and built up together. The one who got caught in an unrequited love with me died, and was brought back to life to once again suffer a greater, darker fate. Now, I carry the future of the world-no, universe-on my shoulders.

Before I knew what was happening, a sharp throb was felt in my heart, repeatedly stabbing like a sword. Then, what felt like knives tore through the very embodiment of my existence, as though to tear me away and throw me somewhere I wasn't supposed to be.

My harsh cries and screams reached no one, as Shadow had already disappeared, and the soulless abominations behind me could care less if I was cut in half.

I crashed onto my side, and saw my hands. Under my gloves, something was happening. Ruby-colored, glowing vein-like stripes ran down my wrists, breaking as though my skin were glass. Pieces of my own body shattered, breaking off me piece by piece.

Gasping for air, I felt the same glassy sensation around my left eye, and instantly, I knew what was happening to my wrists was happening there too. Whatever it was, this mysterious curse-like pain was taking its toll on me.

A figure walked up to me, one that I couldn't recognize due to my blurring sight. A very familiar voice whispered in my ear,

 _"What do you think of the Curse of the Banished Angel, dear reincarnate of my old friend?"_


	10. Astraea

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 9: Astraea

Seeing myself like this, was a whole other matter entirely. Something was changing me, morphing me into a completely different being, into a completely different existence. It was unnatural, an oddity, if I may add.

My energy was draining away, fading into the void that my universe has become.

What did that figure say it was? Curse of the Banished Angel? Did he say I was a reincarnate? What did he mean by that? Wait, how do I know if the figure was male or female? I couldn't tell by the voice; it was neither that of a girl or a boy. So how did I know anything at all? What knowledge was real, and what was fake?

"Yes, what's real, and what's fake?"

Even though my eyes were open, it was hard to see anything at all. I could tell that someone was there, obviously, but the "who" and the "why" was still an unknown. This person, this being, was one that seemed very unfamiliar, yet familiar at the same time.

"Unfamiliar and familiar? My, you have quite a way with words."

Even though I could hear someone's voice, no other sound was heard, as though I was deaf, with the exception of that voice, that sound. The voice echoed, as if it were in my head, though I knew it wasn't. It made no sense in the least, that much I could understand, but still...

"I see. It truly does make no sense in the least. To you I seem real, but at the same time, I seem like a fantasy, a creation of your mind. You really do have a way with words. You would make an impressive poet."

"Sh-shut up, you." I barely manage to choke out, I'm so exhausted. My muscles are numb, my limbs feel like pins and needles are piercing them, and I can't move a single bone in my body.

"Oh, not only is your grammar enchanting, but you are willing to resist. How much better will this get, I wonder?"

The world is spinning. I wonder why. I wonder how I know that, since I can't even see, despite the fact that my eyes are open. Wait, are they?

My left eye is numb. Is my eye even still there? It was cracking like glass, so who knows? Well, the figure probably knows, but I don't. Maybe I do, and I'm just hiding it deep within my soul. Do I even have a soul? Shadow did say I was an exact replica of someone, and the figure said I was a reincarnate, but still, all these questions still have no answer.

"Oh my, you've just realized that? You're quite smart too, since the others couldn't understand a word I said."

Others? Who are these others?

"Indeed, who are these others? Why, if you are willing to become my puppet, I just might tell you."

Puppet?

"Like hell, bastard." I try to muster up some sass, some resistance, but the soreness in my throat prevents me from doing so. It instead comes out as a weak, rocky cry.

"Tsk. I guess that's what I should expect of you, my dear reincarnate."

There it is again. _My dear reincarnate._ What could that possibly mean?

"What it could possibly mean is correct, Amy Rose. Or should I say, Astraea. That is your true name, did you know?"

Astraea? My true name?

"Yes, your true name."

How is he able to know what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling?

"That's because your thoughts are so easy to read, Astraea."

"Don't..." I croak, "Don't call me by a name I don't go by. I am Amy Rose."

"How do you know that?"

And then, my eyesight focused, the blurred colors becoming sharp lines. I realized I was on the ground, laying on my side. My hands were laying in front of me, limp. The glowing crimson stripes still remained.

Some of my flesh was cracked, some parts empty, as though a shard had just fallen.

I saw a pair of feet. Or at least, that's what I think it was. It was shaped like feet, but who knows?

"Now do you see?"

The figure knelt down next to me, trying to create eye contact with me. I spotted a devilish grin on his faceless, well, face.

"There's a difference between you and I."

"Go figure." I cough out, eyeing the blood that stained the ground. The same metallic taste grew in my mouth.

"I have no soul, no being, no spirit to create my existence. Yet you, you have a soul, a ghostly spirit that allows you to live." The person continued, ignoring my talking back. "Not only that, but your soul..."

The figure's tongue appeared, and he licked his lips. "Your soul holds more power than that of the goddess that you were named after, you have so much strength. Astraea, the goddess you were named after, held power. She was a goddess of purity, who could destroy darkness with the touch of her finger. Yet she, compared to you, is _nothing._ The chaotic, frantic power that only reveals itself with the consent of your heart, belongs to you and you alone. As long as your heart is beating it will continue to exist."

I squeeze my eyes shut the moment I felt the person's hot breath against my skin. With a chilling voice that sent shivers down my spine, he whispered, "But once you die, the power born in you will cease to exist. Time will rewrite itself, changing history and creating a future where that power was unknown, where that power was never birthed into this world."

Sucking up whatever strength I had left, I slammed my forehead into that of the figure, before I fell back to where I found myself.

"Oh? You still have the strength to move, even after I drained so much of your energy, even after I drained so much of your very life force?"

"Beat it, you damned piece of sh*t." I swore, making sure the figure every word I could handle.

"Language, language, my dear Astraea."

"I told you not to call me that." I told the person again.

The figure lay down in front of me, in order to make eye contact once again.

The moment his eyes made their appearance, I glanced at my reflection in them, just as I had done to Shadow.

And I _screamed._


	11. That Voice

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 10: That Voice

The pain I felt the moment I stared into the figure's eyes was unbearable.

But at the same time, it was so addicting. That makes me a sadist by nature. It only shows that I have changed so much during the last three years.

At least, that's what I thought until recently. Amy Rose is no sadist. In a way, she was more of a pacifist, even though she fought in wars herself. In no way did she ever believe in the sick idea that harming one's self was so pleasurable. Maybe I'm just an impersonator, a useless being just disguising to be someone who was important. Who knows? Everyone who does know has been way too cryptic with their messages. Shadow refused to answer. Whether it was because he loved Amy Rose or because he hated her is probably why.

One thing's for sure; I'm not Amy Rose. No matter how much I could say I am, I wouldn't fool anybody. My total sadism, and my coldness towards those around me proves it. Though, there aren't any Mobians around me anymore. I'm on my own.

This whole idea made me ask so many questions. That figure called me Astraea. They said it was my true name. My real name. What could that mean? What did that possibly have to do with me?

"My, you do ask a lot of questions, and always wrack your brain for answers. Yet, you always come up blank. You truly are an interesting person." The figure transformed into a silhouette of sorts.

Once again, I felt a very, very, pleasurable sensation of burning in my body. Pins and needles shot up throughout my limbs. My chest felt as though there was a heavy weight pressing against it, and I felt the strangled sensation of choking in my throat. I couldn't believe this felt good.

"Since you consider me...interesting...can you tell me why?"

The figure kneeled, and slid his hand across my cheek. "Simply because. You, who doesn't even have a single drop of Mobian blood in you, who has strength stronger than that of a god, who was born from the emotions of a girl long since dead, simply interests me."

"Interests you?"

"Indeed. Do you remember when you gained a Chaos Emerald within your body? When that very emerald gave you the power of a phoenix?"

Now that I think about it, I believe I did use a power similar to that on monstrosities not too long ago. I know it was before my fri- _acquaintances_ died, before I was captured by Shadow, before I realized Shadow was, in fact, still alive. Or rather, among the living dead. He claimed to have kept his "individuality" among all the others, though I guess that's what he gets for being the Ultimate Lifeform.

That Chaos emerald granted me the power to wield flames, just as Blaze did before her heart stopped beating. But how did I get that Chaos Emerald? How did I infuse it with my body, bind it to my soul? When did I get that emerald in the first place? How did I even know about these powers?

Wow. I ask way too many questions, even when I don't know the answer.

"As expected. You finally realized your nature of questioning. You finally realized how sadistic you are, how you yearn for knowledge of that of the unknown, of that of the nonexistent. Plus, your beliefs and thoughts intrigue me? The pain I give you is addicting? My, my."

"Do you mind _not_ looking through my mind like it's a piece of glass?"

The person's outline changed, and through my blurred sight, I saw someone fall backwards, and something of dark color appear in front of me, in the shape of mist.

"Just as I would expect from a girl of your standing. You're still willing to resist against me, you're stilling willing to resist the darkness residing inside of you. Is there a time whenever you feel afraid?"

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I felt a bit too drained to bother. "Afraid? Fear stands for 'forget everything and run' in my eyes. No way would I do that, not when I finally have a hint at restoring the universe to it's former glory." I shot back.

The mist soon expanded, to the point where it became the only thing I could see. "Do you not understand that you are the one that caused all this? Your very existence is what brought on this mess. Your very existence brought the world out of balance."

"And you expect me to believe that?" What I said completely contradicted what I believed. That could be the case, considering that my origins are somewhat cloudy. Shadow said I was a replica of someone. This...thing said my name was Astraea. Not only that, but my personality fully opposes that of the Amy Rose of three years ago.

"I suggest that you stay away from her."

My eyes enlarged. This voice...

It wasn't Shadow's voice. It wasn't Tails', or Cream's either. This voice belonged to the one who betrayed us, to the one who made us believe he died, to the one who killed Tails and Cream, to the one who killed Shadow. This voice belonged to the one who began this catastrophe, who began what I call the end of the universe.

Sonic, what the hell are you?

The dark-colored fog made a sound that seemed like someone clicking their tongue, before dispersing.

"Sonic..." I couldn't form any other words. I felt a wave of emotions that were...I can't even tell what they were.

Sonic knelt down in front of me, and I sensed his gloved hands slide underneath my prone body. He pushed me up into a sitting position.

"Are you alright?" He asked, reaching a hand out to me.

I was tempted to grasp it, but instead I slapped it away. I told myself I wanted to grab his hand due to old instincts. After all, I couldn't possibly even hope to love him after what he'd done.

"I don't need your help, Sonic." I emphasized his name with a voice filled to the brim with disgust.

Sonic looked at me with a questioned expression. "What are you talking about? You always swoon over me, don't you?"

What is he babbling on about? I was tempted to slap him. So badly.

"Are you an idiot? It's been three years since I 'swooned' over you, as I recall. Do you not remember all the encounters we've had recently?" I replied harshly.

"What are you..." Sonic seemed hurt, but I forced myself to believe that he was only putting up a front.

"Don't give me that crap!" I snapped at him, and enjoyed the way he flinched at my voice. "You killed Shadow, you killed Tails and Cream, you betrayed the very world you swore to protect, you decided it best to erase this world. Don't say 'what are you talking about' because I know whatever you say is a lie!"

The cerulean hedgehog scooted back a bit, taking his hands off my back. "Did I really...did I really do all that?"

My hand twitched. "Of course you did, you bas-huh?"

I noticed something strange with his eyes. The irises...they weren't the bright vermillion they had looked like before. Rather, they had returned to the scintillating emerald and jade they had been three years ago.

Don't tell me that Sonic had been...

Had Sonic been possessed by someone else this whole time?


	12. Mending My Broken Soul

The End is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 11: Mending My Broken Soul

Possessed? No, that couldn't possibly be it.

Sonic was a monster, a creature of the living dead, a being who would not hesitate to kill to get what he wanted.

...at least, that's what I'd like to say.

I couldn't tell if he was putting up a front, or if he really was possessed by someone else this whole time, being used as nothing but a puppet.

The Sonic former-Amy-Rose remembered always ran away from her, left her in the dust. He was so...oblivious to her feelings, so much so that he pushed far past her breaking point. Even after that, she held strong, until she finally shattered and became the monster that I am now. At least, that's what I hope is true.

So many things are beginning to unravel because of the sudden interaction we've had with each other as of late, and now I'm actually beginning to have my doubts.

Astraea. Sonic. Shadow. Reincarnate.

There was so much more to what was really happening, so much more going on behind the scenes. What truly happened three years ago? Just who am I? Who is Sonic? Who is the darkness plaguing all that exists?

"Amy...?"

Sonic's familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. I glanced at him, before instantly turning away. He is a monster, is what I kept telling myself. He's a beast that will devour me if I dare look in his eyes.

"Amy, what's going on?" His tone grew firm, harsh. When his gloved hand latched onto my forearm, I flinched. Only a second after did I realize he wasn't going to break my arm. "What happened?"

I tugged my limb away from him, and stood, ready to move on back to the abandoned, ramshackled G.U.N. hovercraft I call my fortress and my home. Shadow was waiting for me, and he has a short span of patience. A really short one, if I remember correctly.

"You should know, you beast." I emphasized the word _beast_. "After all, you _are_ the one who caused all this."

"Caused...?"

I was so tempted to apologize to him, but I mentally smacked myself, told myself that it was just an old habit. I couldn't possibly love him after all this, right?

" _You_ are the one who begun the erase of our universe. _You_ are the one who killed all those you called 'friends'. _You_ took over the throne of a villain." I poked my finger into his chest, feeling all the frustration I've felt over these last few years just gush out.

These last few years, new emotions have been gathering inside me.

And right now, the one I felt most was pure anger.

Sonic's gloved hands dropped to his sides, not even flinching upon my hand on his chest. He pursed his lips. "Amy." He spoke with a stern, stony voice. One that I had only heard from him once before. He always used this voice when he gave in to his darker side, the one who he couldn't control with just his heart and mind alone.

He grasped my shoulders, and I felt goosebumps trail down my arms. He was so... _warm..._

How was he warm...? The last time I made contact with him, he was cold, among the living dead. So how...

"You need to tell me what's going on. I have no idea how the heck I got here, why you're being so mean, what is happening, and why you're wearing freakin' pants!"

I looked down into my lap. Indeed, underneath my magenta dress with its traditional white lining at the end, was a set of sweatpants. I had put those on awhile back, since I was getting tired of all the potential pantie shots.

"You have to tell me." Sonic continued ranting after that, though my ears temporarily tuned out.

 _Is this really..._ _Is this really happening...?_

My lips parted, and I felt them tremble. "S...So..." I weakly muttered the words. Just then, did new memories of him come back to me.

 _"You stood me up, you idiot!"_

 _"Jeez! I told ya I was sorry!"_

My fisted hands released, flattening upon the dirt ground.

 _"Promise that you'll never leave me! Promise that you'll never leave me behind ever again!"_

 _"Don't worry! I won't!"_

I felt my limbs go numb.

 _"Happy Valentines Day, my beloved Sonikku!"_

 _"U-Uh, thanks, A-Ames..."_

 _"Aw! You're blushing. How cute!"_

 _"I-I'm not blushing!"_

The heart pounding in my chest began to accelerate in speed as my breaths grew more rapid. "So...S-Son..."

 _"Do you know much I love you, you stupid idiot!?"_

 _"A-...Amy..."_

Sonic finally glanced at me, aware that I was going into a panicked state. "Hey! Amy! Are you okay?" He began to shake my shoulders, though I was too blinded by the words coming out of my mouth. "Son-Soni..."

 _"I love you, Sonikku!"_

I held my breath, as the nickname that I knew only as a memory slipped out of my mouth. "Soni...Sonik-Sonikku..."

"Ames? You still with me?" The cobalt hedgehog's pupils were dilated, his face painted with concern.

After a quick moment of dazing and temporary spacing out, I blinked. "R-Right." I pushed Sonic away from me and folded my hands in my lap. I coughed, making sure I wasn't gonna panic like I did only moments ago.

"You see, three years ago, a mysterious being began to erase the universe, or rather, the one that we live in. It was proved after a serious of disappearances were happening all around the globe." I began my explanation-or my side of the story, really. "First things to disappear were homes, technology, food, anything Mobians like us needed to survive. After that, the moon, the stars, they all just vanished night after night, until the sky itself was erased, and became the white you see now."

Directing my hand up into the barren white sky, I observed Sonic as he looked up. When his gaze once again set down upon me, I continued. "And then, even Mobians began disappearing into thin air. Thousands just vanished night after night, until very few remained. Once that happened, Tails finally found a lead to what could be causing this."

Sonic stiffened. "Tails?"

My eyes narrowed at him. "Yes. The one that you killed only a day or so ago, I believe." He began playing with his fingers with a guilty expression on his face.

"Anyways," I ignored him. "After Tails found that lead, Sonic, you took Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, Rouge, the Chaotics, and a few other with you to figure out the cause. BUT-" Sonic flinched at my sudden highlighting of the "but".

I slammed my hands into his chest. "You told me, Cream and Tails to stay home. You said it was dangerous, and, in a way, said that we were weak!" Hands trembling in shock, tears began to well in my eyes, surprisingly. "You told me that I would be useless if I came with you! That I would be nothing but an obstacle in your way! And, and after that-"

I leaned over a bit more, and eventually I fell on top of the blue hedgehog, my hands sliding up from his chest and wrapping around his throat. "You _broke_ me, Sonic! You took what was left of my soul and shattered it! I loved you, and despite each rejection from you, I still tried to hold on, tried to convince myself that you loved me, but no! You just _had_ to toy with me again and again! Do you know how much I've suffered because of it!?"

My hands continued to tighten around Sonic's throat, and he gradually began to choke, his hands clawing at mine a futile attempt to get me to stop. "A-Amy! S...Stop it! I get that you're angry right now, but I'm sorry, okay?!" He choked out. I ignored him.

"'I'm sorry' my ass! You left us behind, even when you promised you wouldn't, and then you never came back for three years! Three f*ckin' years, that I waited for you, despite how fragmented my heart had become! Then you just HAD to go and fake dying a few weeks ago! How cruel can you be?!"

The tears burning in my eyes finally broke through the dam, slipping down my cheeks and landing on Sonic's as he watched me in shock. My hands vanished from his neck. I slammed my head into his chest, and began pounding on it weakly like a child would to their parent when they were sad. What a pitiful sight I had become.

"You hurt me so, so much, asshole! Seriously! How heartless can a charlatan hero be?!"

I had snapped my eyelids shut, so they opened in shock when I felt a hand ruffle the pink fur on my head. Snapping up, I realized the hand belonged to Sonic, who was still petting me.

"Jeez, Ames. I had no idea you were hurtin' this much. Sorry that I wasn't there to help you."

"S-Sonikku..."

Was I really doing this? Was Sonic really still my weak spot, no matter how much I convinced myself that I didn't have weaknesses? I thought I had abandoned my heart, but it's been crying inside me all this time, hasn't it?

"I won't leave you again. I won't leave you to suffer something so hellish. Ever again. _I promise."_

"Sonikku..."

I guess it was true; I had been in love with him this whole time, haven't I?


	13. He Is My Weak Spot

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 12: He Is My Weak Spot

How could I allow myself to become so weak? How could I allow my emotions to take control of me? How _dare_ I let myself become such a pitiful state?

Truly, I am a pathetic being. All these years, I believed myself to have erased these emotions ages ago, I believed myself to have no weaknesses. Yet here I am, weakly punching my enemy's chest like a child, tears on my lashes. How pitiful can one being get?

I pushed Sonic away. "Forget it. I can't believe I let you get to me so easily." I glared at him. "And don't you _dare_ make promises you can't keep."

The blue hedgehog still kept the classic noble-and-serious expression, but it was easy for me to tell the hurt he felt when I told him that. His eyes said it all. "I may've failed in my last promise to ya, but I'm not messin' up this one. All right?"

" _Right._ Like I could ever believe _you."_ I scoffed, putting on my usual face. I was still a bit shaky inside, but I refused to show any weakness. Especially toward the enemy.

I stood, dusting off my clothes. "Well, I'll leave you to go clean up your own mess, if you really are telling the truth." I turned, waving my hands in a taunting way. "See ya."

Sonic rushed to his feet. My eyes narrowed. "Ya mean I'm not goin' with ya?" He asked.

"Of course. Why would I let someone I don't trust to the one hideout left that I can call my home? My home vanished, like all the others. If I brought you back to ou- _my_ hideout, then all that I ever fought for would be worthless." I replied with a voice that stated the obvious.

The former savior of the world winced at my cold words. "So you don't trust me?" I heard him mutter.

He used proper grammar. He really was serious. "Why would I? You killed the one who fell in love me, killed my only remaining allies, broke me, destroyed the very world you promised that you would protect, you left everything you cared about to _die._ Blaze is dead. Rouge too. Tails, Shadow, Cream, Knuckles I'm not sure about, and same with Silver. With the two of them as an exception, all of them are _dead._ And you still have the nerve to call yourself my friend? How heartless can you get?" I didn't realize the emotion in my voice until afterwards. I clapped my hand over my mouth, angry at myself for showing weakness even now.

Sonic didn't answer. That's what I expected. I turned to look at him, and my eyes went wide at what I saw.

He was shaking. Trembling. The expression on his face was one of pure fear and other emotions that should not have been on the enemy's face. He opened his mouth, but was unable to say anything. In fact, right now, he was incapable of saying anything at all.

Sonic was feeling suicidal. He wanted to die. He knew, that if the words were coming out of my mouth, then they were definitely true. And right now, he wanted to kill himself for committing so many crimes.

But why would he feel that way? He turned on us. He left us behind for a throne of shadows and power. Why would he bother feeling this way?

Was it perhaps true then? That he had been possessed by another this whole time?

I wanted to smack myself. How dare I let myself think of such a thought?

"Amy...did I really...do all that...?"

Sonic collapsed to the ground, as though standing up had proven useless. Despite the tugging sensation that was telling me to go and comfort him, I remained where I stood, emotionless and unfazed by his sudden guilt.

Oh, that was a definite lie. No doubt about it. I was hurting inside, refusing to admit it, however. My heart was pounding against my rib cage.

An out-of-the-blue voice revealed itself in my head. _Don't leave me alone!_

I stiffened at the familiarity of that voice. It...was mine. _Don't leave me in the darkness again! I can't bear it anymore!_

Right after, a sudden, unknown being took control of my body. I took a few steps towards the unstable hedgehog, and knelt down next to him. _What in the hell am I doing?_

My hand raised, and it struck him.

 _SLAP!_

"Idiot!" I shouted, and I realized I was uncertain of whether or not this was my voice speaking. "The only thing stronger than hope is fear!"

Sonic froze, his hand slowly reaching up to his sore cheek.

"Fear means being a coward! You forget everything and run! Is that what you want!?"

The verdigris-colored irises in his eyes lit aflame.

"Are you a coward!? You just promised me, didn't you!?"

 _Why am I even bothering with this? I know I'm still in love with him, but...how could I?_

"Don't be a b*tch and break the promise you just made!"

And the echoes returned. _Don't you dare get rid of your insanity!_

* * *

Shadow looked irritated. With a raised eye ridge, and that glare with an equally threatening gritting of his teeth, it was clear he didn't like what he was seeing. Then again, who could blame him? Our supposed arch nemesis was laying down on the map table in our not-so-secret-now hideout, his feet kicked up in the air. And for crying out loud, he was freakin' _whistling._

"What in Mobius' name are you doing here, Sonic?" Shadow growled. He snapped his head up, facing my direction. He glared at me. I turned away, instead throwing all my attention at the set of blueprints that Cream had made while she was still here, on my side, as an ally. While she was still alive. How nostalgic.

Sonic sat up, kicking his feet to the side so that they were dangling off the table. He crossed his arms. "Not Faker anymore, Shads?" He made it sound like a joke, but Shadow and I didn't even know what a joke was anymore. All we saw it as was a front that the enemy was putting up so that we may let our guard down. That is what the times of war and loneliness had done to us. So much agony, and yet now we couldn't feel it.

I slammed my gloved hand down against the table, right next to Sonic's lap. My expression grew dark as I stared at the erstwhile "savior" of the world, and my voice went stony and cold as winter's harshest blizzard. Not that there was winter anymore. "What right do you have to criticize him, _murderer_? You _killed_ him, and now thanks to the chaos, the dead have risen. He being one of them. All that have died are now among the living. In fact, I think the best way to put it would be that-" I lifted my icy jade stare to Sonic's emerald ones.

"-You and I are the last living beings among the universe as of now."

* * *

HELLO AGAIN, MY LOVELIES! I know I haven't spoken in a while, mostly since I been super focused on writing TEIWWB and rewriting Swapped Lives. But I'm really happy that I'm finally getting into the story plot for this story, and to clarify, in Swapped Lives, yes, both Shadow AND Sonic have amnesia.

Yay~I am officially a year older today! Happy birthday to me!

Anyways, thanks for reading everyone. It makes me happy knowing I'm making other people happy with my writing. Arigatou, my lovelies!

~HeavenDragon


	14. Fake Embodiment of Another

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 13: Fake Embodiment of Another

Sonic blinked. Then again. I watched, unsure of whether or not my conclusion affected him. I lifted my hand off the table, and stepped back. He was hiding whatever emotions he was potentially feeling fairly well, actually. No matter how much I tried to detect any feeling within his face, his eyes, or even the way his body reacted, I found no sign of emotion.

There was complete silence. Until Shadow finally broke it. "Sonic." He snapped his fingers in front of the cobalt hedgehog's face. The said "hero" shook his head, coming back to his senses. I wanted to smack myself, right then and there. The thought of him spacing out hadn't even crossed my mind. I really was beginning to slack off in terms of survival skills. He really is my weakness. One that I wish I didn't have.

"Did you hear a word of what I just said?" I inquired, placing my hands on my hips. It felt so...reminiscent. The last time I had done a pose like this was...I don't even remember when anymore. Wow.

Sonic shook his head again. I wanted to slap him again. I pushed two of my fingers against my forehead, irritated. "Idiot." I murmured.

"I heard that!"

"ANYWAYS," I sorted it out in my head. He needed simple words in order to understand anything. "You and I are the last living beings in the universe."

Sonic's pupils dilated in surprise. His hands suddenly gripped the edge of the table he was sitting on, so tightly that it began to crush. _"What?"_

The question sounded like a growled order more than anything else. However, I was expecting that. I didn't flinch or show any kind of reaction. I replied to his question with, "Everyone else is already dead, even Shadow over here. Eggman I'm unsure of, but I can tell that he's most likely dead as well. Same with Silver and Knuckles, despite not knowing of their whereabouts or if they're truly part of the deceased. You and I are the only ones left among the living world."

"How did they die?"

Shadow threw his hand down against the other side of the table, opposite where I had done it. _"What do you think, damn traitor? You're the one who killed them."_

I didn't move. I knew Sonic was finally going to realize the danger of this situation.

He was finally going to realize that we're in danger of being erased from existence.

The entire universe and all of its history will disappear into the abyss, before being born anew. That's what I theorize, anyway. And we definitely don't need that right now. If that happens, all our efforts would've been in vain. That isn't something we want as a part of our lives. All the effort of Shadow and I, anyway. We _are_ the only ones left that are fighting for the light.

I turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind me. There was no need for me to see the bloody violence that would go down in just a few seconds. All it would do is give me another scar to add to the amount I had gathered over the years. Which I had many of.

From there, I let my legs guide me to wherever I was going.

My mind was currently empty. As was my heart and soul, barren of memory and emotion. Barren of an existence. All I am right now is a husk, following the wishes of _her._ The girl who gave me life and...

Where did that come from?

 _The insanity will devour you. A carefree life has long since left your reach, Astraea._

It came back. The voices haunting me, just like that one time I dreamed with my eyes open.

 _You don't even know what sanity is anymore. You don't even exist. You shouldn't exist._

I began breathing heavily, hitting the wall to my left and sagging against it. The blood began pounding in my ears, so much that all sound drowned out.

 _The girl you claim to be died. She died and will never come back. You are simply the one born to carry on her wishes._

The heart beating in my chest hastened, going beyond what could even be considered Mobian.

 _All you are is the replacement for an actor unable to walk on stage. A replacement that never had a worthy purpose._

"Shut up, shut up, shut the hell up." I muttered the words with a breathy voice. "I am Amy Rose, fifteen now, and the one who will substitute for the hero who doesn't exist anymore."

 _You aren't even living being._

I threw my hand over my frantic heart, and squeezed my eyes shut, almost thinking that if I did that the pain would end. "Stop it, stop it, stop it."

 _You are Astraea, the fake embodiment of another's existence._

I let out a cry, crashing onto my side. The crimson veins soon made themselves known, twisting and turning through every single one of my limbs. They entangled and crept across my face, and then an inexplicable pain made its debut between my shoulder blades.

Only my war-like, sadistic nature kept me from screaming out for someone to save me from this agony.

For once, the pain wasn't pleasurable. It was hell.

"Make it...make it stop..." I sounded like I was begging. How pathetic.

 _You are Astraea, reincarnate of the one you identify yourself as._

And the pain all faded. the glowing vermillion cracks appearing in my skin like glass just vanished, as well as the strange feeling in my back.

My energy tank was again drained, empty if you may, as it has been so many times thus far.

Why, I don't even know.

"Astraea, Amy Rose, reincarnate...just who am I?"

With unsteady legs, I heaved myself up, that very question now embedded within me. No matter how much I try to convince myself I'm Amy Rose, I know I'm not. I could never be Amy Rose.

I could never be the girl who would face everything and rise. I could never be the girl who was willing to break a billion times over if it would mean the safety of those she loved. I could never be the girl who could care less about her own health and existence. All she cared about was about those around her.

Amy Rose was like an angel.

I am a monster.

Quite the stark contrast, doesn't everyone agree?

"Who am I?" I repeated the question to myself.

I don't know who I am. Am I a monster? Am I a fallen angel, like I thought Sonic to be? Astraea? Amy Rose? Do I even exist? Do I even live? Am I anything more than a replacement actor? There is nothing I could be, right? I could be nothing more than who I have come to be.

Astraea is what they call me. Amy Rose is what I call myself. Simple as that.

I continued walking down the hallway, looking through each of my memories for a possible hint to who I could possibly be.

And then it hit me.

* * *

WOW! Two chapters in one day! Man, I'm amazing, aren't I, my lovelies?  
Now, I only gave you two chapters because I'm officially a year older today, and because I love my lovelies. Arigatou, again, for reading my stories and making me happy.

~HeavenDragon


	15. What I've Become

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 14: What I've Become

Anyone's heart would've been shaken by the realization I just came to. Mine was no different. My reaction was just the same as any other person's would've been. If there were still people living in the universe to begin with.

My hands were trembling beneath my gloves. The numbness in my legs continued to spread throughout my body.

"I'm..."

My lip quivered. So _that_ was what all of it meant. What Shadow hinted at. What that unknown darkness was pointing to all this time. They were pointing out the fact that I didn't even exist.

Wait, no. That didn't sound right. It was more like I wasn't even a person.

"Amy!"

The shout of Sonic's voice pushed my realization to the back of my mind, and I instantly stood, forgetting what had just happened. That's right. Saving our universe comes first, not who I really am.

"What is it that you want, Sonic?" I asked, just as the blue blur made his appearance in front of me. "Are you hear to make your failures of comedic jokes? Or is it that you want to make yet another promise you can't keep?"

Sonic harshly grasped onto my shoulders. "I wouldn't be here if that was it!" He barked it out in a loud, distressed tone that I had never heard him use before. Of course, that caught my attention, since would never act this serious if he was in his right mind. Then again, I never really did know whether or not he was in his right mind.

"Then what _are_ you here for? Why do you exist, I wonder? Maybe to save the world, maybe to end it. Maybe you don't even have a purpose, you're such a useless being. So, why are you here?" I began to wonder aloud, going back into my habit of asking too many questions.

Sonic laughed. He _laughed._ Of all the things he could do, he laughed.

My glare revealed itself, cold and forbidding as always. "What's so funny, _murderer?_ "

The cobalt hedgehog seemed to disregard my use of the word "murderer," instead saying, "I'm here to protect ya, idiot!"

At first, the numbness in my body temporarily faded, from the shock before Sonic showed up, but it quickly came back. However, this numbness wasn't...it wasn't unforgiving. It felt warm, something I've never understood. Sonic truly is the one I can't kill, I can't get rid of. It pains me knowing that. It pains me knowing I can't get rid one who ended all we loved and cherished.

My eyes sighted in on the blood dripping down his arm. Following its path, I found his arm had a large laceration that also lengthened across his chest. The crimson seemed to dye his fur red. "You're bleeding." I stated bluntly.

Sonic waved it away dismissively. "Right, like I could care." He pointed at my still-trembling hand. "What about you? Ya haven't stopped shaking since I got here."

He reminded me what I realized before hand. Who I am, what I am, that was what figured out. "Hmph." I imitated Shadow unconsciously. "It's not important." I turned away from him. "And it's not like anyone would care anyway. I merely realized my origins, that's all."

He tilted his head in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I brushed it off. "Forget about it. Anyways, did you and Shadow fight just now?" I pointed at the gash.

He ruffled his blue quills. "I guess. But I don't get why."

"Clueless as ever, I see."

"Hey, Uncle Chuck always told me that I-"

"-had more speed and strength than sense, I know. You've told me-no, Amy-dozens of times."

"What? Aren't you Ames?"

I smirked. "Sort of, I guess. But," my fist clenched. "I'm not her."

Sonic went serious. "Then who are you?"

I pointed at myself. "Me? I don't know. The shadows called me Astraea. Shadow said I'm not Amy. But Amy has been haunting my thoughts for quite some time."

"Sorry?"

"A part of her exists within my being. I was born from her wishes to protect you and everyone else."

Sonic raised an eye ridge, clearly confused. "I don't follow what you're talkin' about."

"It's best that you probably don't."

Shadow interrupted our conversation. He appeared to lean against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed. "Finding out what she is will change you forever, and probably won't be for the better. Besides,"

He tossed a First Aid kit into Sonic's hands. "We still have a world to save. Remember what you said?" Shadow directed the question at me.

I watched him questioningly. "About what?"

"About how you said you were unsure of Silver's and Knuckles' whereabouts. If they're still alive, it would be helpful to have them on our side. It would be the same with whether or not they're dead. If they're dead, and still maintain a free will, we'll have them side with us. If not, just leave them to do as they please."

"I see. So our next mission is to find Silver and Knuckles and determine they're status."

Sonic waved his hand in the air. "Hellooo!" He pointed at me. "Ya still haven't given me a clear explanation of who ya are."

I licked my lips. "Persistent and hardheaded, I see." But I nodded. "All right. But you'll have to listen to my gibberish."

Sonic nodded.

"Very well." I stood up.

 _"Puer ego sum luminis,_

 _Puella autem caedam dicatis deos destined,_

 _Natus ex vota mortale est scriptor,_

 _Ego ad te pertinent,_

 _Et dona,_

 _Et votum tuum._ "

Sonic looked lost. "What the frick did ya just say?"

"What she just said translates to 'I am a child of light, the girl destined to slay the gods, born from a mortal's wishes, I belong to you, and I shall grant thy wish' in English. It's Latin, you idiot." Shadow explained.

I chuckled. "Indeed."

The blue hedgehog scratched the spot behind his triangular ears. "Can you shorten that?"

Shadow looked ready to murder him.

"Sure, murderer." I replied. "In simpler terms..." I clenched my fists. The memory Amy gave me remained burned into my mind.

* * *

 _"NO! Don't touch him!"_

 _The blood spilled the instant that blade of corrupt light and ridden hope impaled her. Her eyes went wide, but not for long, as the light quickly disappeared in them. A small stream of the metallic liquid trickled out the corner of her mouth, but she had become too weak to wipe it away. The breath she held in vanished, like how one sees a puff of their own air after they exhale._

 _She collapsed to the ground, her limbs following, however they landed in awkward positions. The pool beneath her began to spread, and her pulse weakened. She vaguely noticed the blurs of color gathering at her sides. She faintly realized that someone was performing CPR on her chest. She barely saw the tears running down everyone's cheeks._

 ** _Sonikku...I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you..._**

* * *

"I am the reincarnation of Amy Rose."

* * *

A/N:

Hello, my lovelies! It's me, HeavenDragonSlayer the Not-So-Great! I'm here to give you a warning message about my stories!

First of all, Fated and His Past and Her Handicap will probably come out sometime in July!

Second, and lastly (stupid as it sounds), I won't be updating for the next three-four weeks! :'(. I'm off on a trip for summer, so I'll be on hiatus! This chapter is probably all you'll get for the next month! Gomen!

Goodbye, my lovelies. Wish me luck!

~HeavenDragon


	16. Dead

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 15: Dead

First thing that happened was my getting backhanded across the face. I didn't react; I merely rubbed my sore cheek.

"Liar! How can you not be Ames?!" Sonic shouted. "You look exactly like her! Then there's that dang hammer of yours! What about how you called me Sonikku, huh?! How can you not be her?!"

Shadow grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him backwards. "Calm down. She speaks the truth." He gave me a look. _Explain the truth,_ was what it said. I nodded. _You d_ _on't need to tell me. I already know, thank you very much._

"Shadow's right, Sonic. Think about it. Would Amy Rose ever wear pants? Would she call you murderer? Would she attempt hiding things from you, or accuse you of making promises you can't keep? What about how many times I've hurt you? What about how I keep you at arm's length?" I pointed out each and every thing I kept note of. Sonic's fists clenched even tighter.

I sighed. "Amy Rose is _dead,_ Sonic. She had unfinished business in the mortal world, so I was reborn in her place. I'm here so that I can finish what she started." I explained. I could only pray that it would register in his head that the Amy Rose that actually _loved_ him was gone. Then again, I was just as shocked as he was when I learned of my true identity.

Sonic raised an eye ridge. "What do you mean by 'unfinished business'?"

I took a breath. This would take some time. "Amy Rose was a supernatural being of impossible power. Her parents were gods. When she was but a baby, someone sealed away her powers in order to protect her-as well as the world."

His pupils shrank in shock. "Gods? Sealed away powers? Don't screw with me! Ames was just a regular girl who got her hammer powers from that ring!"

"Wrong." I corrected him. "I can't believe you have such little faith in her. A regular girl? How could you explain how well she could harness the Chaos Emeralds' power? For Mobius' sake, there's one inside of me right now."

Sonic''s frown deepened at my guilt tripping.

"Her purpose in life was to protect you-the destined hero of Mobius." I pointed at him. "Yet, she found herself unable to. You grew to be stronger than her, so much so that all she became was a thorn in your side. She clung to you not only because you were her crush or her best friend, but because it was her God-given mission."

"So she didn't really care about me then? Ames, I mean."

"Of course she did. More than you could possibly realize. But then...something happened." I bit my lip. It bled out again, mostly because it was still healing from the beatings I took. "The world was slowly erased from existence."

"No sh*t, Sherlock." Sonic grumbled. I glared daggers at him, just daring him to fight me, the reincarnation of his friend.

"A mysterious darkness aimed to destroy the universe, to destroy time all together. After destroying worlds, one after another, it arrived at ours. It apparently thought that, by possessing the world's hero, it could destroy the place with ease. You were possessed by it."

I remembered; how Sonic's eyes used to be lit aflame in the color of an insatiable crimson. All the things he said.

 _"So you think Sonic is one who walks the path of light? That he walks it with you? Oh...I'm afraid you're walking the path of the light alone."_

 _"How does it feel?"  
_

 _"What do you think of the Curse of the Banished Angel, dear reincarnate of my old friend?"_

 _"What it could possibly mean is correct, Amy Rose. Or should I say, Astraea. That is your true name, did you know?"_

"Amy realized she had to find some sort of way to save you, but you wouldn't let her. So she did the only thing she could." I continued.

Sonic's fist trembled by now. From rage or fear or guilt, I couldn't tell. "And what would that be?"

I smirked; I couldn't wait to see his reaction. Mobius, I'm such a sadist. Perhaps a masochist as well? "She sacrificed herself, hoping it would wake you up. She let you kill her, hoping it would bring you back to your senses. Unfortunately for her, she failed. That's why I was born in her place; she fused her soul with that of the Chaos Emeralds' and I was born with a Chaos Emerald inside my body. I am here to finish what she started." I stepped closer to him and lifted his chin up so his downcast eyes met mine. "I am here to save you, as much as I hate to admit it."

Shadow released his grip on Sonic, having stayed silent the whole time. He walked away, giving us the alone time we needed. _Thank you,_ I thought.

When Shadow turned the corner, Sonic delivered a punch to my stomach. He took his rage out on me.

Though I crashed into the wall, I didn't reveal any emotion on my face. I wiped the dribble of blood off my face and stood back up.

"Don't gimme that crap! You tellin' me Ames is dead?! Then just who are ya exactly?!" He yelled. I pitied him. He was still such a naïve child, despite being eighteen now.

I moved closer to him. "I'm Astraea. An immortal child surpassing gods and the one meant to carry on the wishes of Amy Rose. I am what you would call...a Banished Angel."

"Banished...Angel?"

I lifted my long, sakura bangs out of my face-the ones covering my left eye. He reacted by backing up and hitting the wall.

Over time, my emerald iris had morphed and darkened into an eerie shade of scarlet, matching the blood of those I'd slain. Gold flecks littered the rubies. Red, glowing veins crept across the entirety of my left eye, outlined in obsidian. A tear of blood crept down my face, against my own will.

"A Banished Angel is the reincarnation of a god, but gifted with a fusion of the powers of gods, demons, angels, any supernatural being there is out there. On top of that, I have the Chaos Emerald of flames resting inside me." I balled my hand into a fist and held only millimeters from his face. "If I so wished, I could kill you right now with a snap of my fingers."

This is what I was. Prior to this, I had no clue who I was. A part of Amy Rose dwelled inside me, inside that Chaos Emerald embedded in me. Had she tried telling me this the entire time?

I leaned in close to the former hero, and I noticed him blush. In his ear, I whispered, "Amy Rose is not me. She is dead. I am Astraea, the one destined to end all this madness."

With that, I backed away and left.

* * *

I slammed the door shut to my room, sagging against it. How had I managed to stay so calm in front of him? The realization'd just begun to settle in, that I was something that surpassed gods. My fingers ghosted across my closed left eyelid.

 _Curse of the Banished Angel. What is that?_ I thought. _I'm a Banished Angel myself. Does that mean I'm cursed somehow?_

I hugged my knees to my chest and buried myself in them. What was all this? I wished I just didn't exist in the first place, that the universe wasn't disappearing from existence as I spoke. I wished that Amy could continue living her life out with Sonic like she wished she could. When she fell in love with him, all she wanted was to stay by his side. But when he betrayed her, killed Shadow, as well as herself, any chance of hope faded.

"Just make it stop." I whispered hoarsely to myself. I'm bound to a future of insanity and death and tragedy. Comfort and love don't exist. I'm immune to pain, something I dismissed as a trivial matter. No matter how much I wanted to love, I couldn't. I wanted to love Sonic, but he hated me. He wanted Amy, not some cheap copy of her. "How come this is all that awaits me?"

It was nothing but an endless spiral of destruction. I'm entrapped by the chains of suffering. How did all this happen? And all because Amy died?

 ** _She's dead._**

I thought I'd erased all emotions and locked away this heart of mine. So what was this ache in my chest? It most certainly wasn't pain, or that Curse of the Banished Angel or whatever.

 _ **She's gone.**_

What was the wetness on my cheeks? Tears, right? Was I crying? I was such a broken person-correction, Banished Angel. My tears mixed with the blood of my left eye.

 _ **Amy Rose is dead.**_

* * *

I'M BACK, MY LOVELIES! *HUGS LAPTOP*

I am deeply sorry for leaving again! But I needed a vacation, and hey, I love my cliffs! I've been busy writing Fated and His Past and Her Handicap, same with a bunch of other stories that are to remain confidential *insert maniacal laugh here*. Anyways, expect a new NaLu OneShot soon; it's based off something that actually happened during vacation! Bye, my lovelies!

~HeavenDragon


	17. You Are

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 16: You Are

Shadow said a week had passed since I revealed Amy's death to Sonic. I hadn't seen him since then, and I hadn't left the fortress since then. Shadow'd grown impatient at the fact that I'd yet to initiate any movement against this mysterious darkness that seemed to have taken an interest in me. He's a member of the living dead, hoping to seek vengeance for his death. It made me wonder why he didn't take it out on the fake hero dwelling in this place. Sonic was, after all, the one who killed him, even if he didn't on purpose.

Now that I thought about it, looking back on Amy's memories, Sonic'd become quite the crybaby. He used to be a confident, powerful "hero" loved by all and hated by the few who got in his way. He treasured his friends, would do anything if it would mean saving them. I questioned why he changed so. Was it because of all the blood staining his hands? Was it because of the death of his dearest friend, Tails? What about Cream and Rouge and Blaze and everyone else? I wondered if Amy was part of the reason at all.

I looked out the window of my room. The badlands I used to see had faded away to white. All that was left was our headquarters, floating about in this empty abyss of light. Perhaps I had waited too long to make a move. Well, whatever the case, there was no going back. If any one of us exited this G.U.N. building, we would have been erased the moment our feet touched the white.

There were times I wondered if this world had any chance of being saved. So many had become living dead - so, so many. Everything had been erased. What had become of those corpses, of those demonic beasts I had seen the day this had all started?

I didn't know why I suddenly started crying at the thought, but I did. I hugged my knees to my chest and muffled whatever sobs I could. Curses unfit for a Banished Angel of my caliber escaped my lips, in between hiccups and sobs and cries. This was just like when I cried at the realization that Amy Rose was dead.

 ** _Dead._**

My heart was locked away at the start of all this, but when did the key come and unlock it all? What was the key in the first place? Why did I decide to feel again? My heart hurt, it collapsed in on itself, anything that made me want to scream and hurt and let it all out. Pain was the only thing that reminded me that I was still alive. It was a wonder that I'd lived off of pain for that long. Maybe, somewhere, in this abyss of white and nothing, a heart existed, a heart that gave me a chance to truly live. I wanted to reach it, to hold it, and give myself a chance to change and something other than myself.

Someone knocked on my door. I willed myself to stand and wipe my red tears away. When did they turn red anyway? I adjusted my bangs over my eyes for extra measure, to hide my weakness. In an eternal hell like that, weakness was a taboo.

Sonic was the one who answered my door. He looked exhausted; I made out shadowy bags beneath his eyes, and his fur had dulled to a much paler color. There was a haze in his eyes, a fog covering the emeralds once filled with a carefree life. There were times I wondered if I could ever have eyes like his.

"What is it, Charlatan Hero?" I asked. He didn't answer. I sighed, preparing myself to close the door.

"If you came here just to see how I would react, then you failed. I feel nothing anymore." I said. As my hand started pulling on the knob, I felt something heavy push against me and made me fall backwards. My mouth parted slightly, but I wasn't surprised. Movements made from someone as broken as him often resembled that motive.

I fell onto the floor, my sakura locks spilling out all over the ground. Sonic pinned my arms down and growled. "Is this what's become of you now?" I asked.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you trying so hard?"

At that, my eyes widened, then narrowed. "What are you getting at, Fake?" Wow. I was using Shadow's nicknames now. "I'm not trying hard at anything because I have nothing to live for."

He ignored me. "Why are you trying so hard to be something that you're not?"

I punched him. He didn't react the way I'd expected him to. Instead of fighting back, like I'd predicted, he let me push him back so that I was the one straddling him, my palms on the ground on either side of him. I gritted my teeth. "What do you mean, Imposter?"

"You're not who you say you are."

"What do you know about me?" I mumbled. "Did you carry the burden of a goddess on your back? Did you break the one promise you swore to keep? Did you lose all sense of self like I did? You didn't." I was torn between apologizing, smiling, or punching him. "You don't know a thing about me."

Sonic seemed to ignore my words. "You're not a Banished Angel or whatever it was you said."

My eyes glinted. "Then tell me what I am, Sonic. Because if I'm not that, then what the hell am I?" My tone shook. I knew I was on the verge of twisting his head and yanking it off his neck. How I'd managed to stop myself is still a mystery to me today. "A demon? A murderer? A monster? What am I?"

"You're just a girl with more on her plate than she can handle."

I froze, taking in those words. _Am I really...?_ "Don't make me doubt myself. I know what I am. Don't you dare tell me otherwise." I tried choking him, but my grip didn't do so much as make him flinch. He wasn't hiding the pain, I realized; I wasn't squeezing tight enough, with my resolve so shaken as it was. It ticked me off. "I am a Banished Angel, a being that surpasses gods. I am the reincarnation of the girl you pushed aside, meant to save the world she failed to. I am not a regular girl. If I was, do you think I'd be suffering this much? Huh?" I rested my head down beside his. What was I doing? I didn't think I'd ever know. "You are _lucky_ compared to me, and yet you still say the I'm normal?" I released my grip on him and stood up, clicking my tongue. "Screw it all."

I summoned my hammer and tossed it over my shoulder, adjusting myself to its familiar weight. "I'm going after that darkness that's trying to destroy this world. I'm done waiting." I said, expecting him to not say anything.

 _A normal girl? What a lie,_ I thought. _I don't even have the right to call myself mortal. I don't have the right to even call myself a person._ I knew what I thought was true, but despite all that, his words still got to me, and I absolutely loathed him for that. He was my weakness. _There is nothing I can do_ , I realized as I rounded the corner. _A weakness will always be a weakness, and how can I get rid of one my past incarnation forced onto me? Sonic is part of my existence, and without him I myself will crumble back into the nothing from whence I came._

Part of me wondered if I really was just a normal girl at the time. I was a Banished Angel, but maybe I could've been a normal girl if this never happened. _You are just a girl with more on her plate than she can handle._ I couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that. He had sounded so mature, and it honestly concerned me. _You are...You are...You are..._

I shook my head and pushed the armory's door to the side, allowing myself in. Shadow waited for me there, armed with knives and pistols. I guessed that it made sense; as a walking corpse, he had no control over the power he could only have while living. I expected his presence, and I decided to ask, "Is the blue bastard coming along?"

"He is not. If he dares to follow us before we leave, I will not hesitate in shooting him down." Shadow gestured to the weapons in their holsters. I simply nodded, taking my own set of daggers and rifles and tying a belt of them around my waist. A moment of silence elapsed between us when he questioned me. "Do you know how you're going to defeat our enemy when we don't even know who they are?"

I must admit, a part of me hesitated when he asked that. We did not know our enemy. It wasn't Mephiles or Chaos or Dr. Eggman; none such as those pathetic beings would choose such a drastic measure. What was the point in world conquest if there was no world left to conquer? I did, however, have an idea of what we might do to prevent all of this from ever happening. I had a chaos emerald embedded in my spirit. I bet Shadow had his, and...maybe...

"I do." I said, turning to his glazed-over stare. "Do you have a chaos emerald?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"I have one as well. I thought that maybe...if we traveled back in time, back to three years ago, when everything was okay, then maybe we could prevent our enemy from ever destroying anything. At the time, the darkness had only been eradicating planets, not the entire universe itself. I could care less about other planets, but at least one has to exist, and that's ours." I pointed to my chest. "We both have an emerald. I think we have enough power to do it, but..."

Shadow raised an eye ridge. "But what?"

I pursed my lips. "If we succeed in preventing all this tragedy from happening, I will cease to exist."

 _You are just a girl._

* * *

I'M FINALLY BACK MY LOVELIES! I'M SORRY LIFE HAS BEEN A PAIN IN THE A**, BUT I MADE IT BACK AND YEEEEEE!

Chapter 16 of TEIWWB is finally up! I'm sorry I took so long, but you know how life is, and yeah. I made promises a year ago; I won't anymore. Fated may not be worked on for awhile, and DON'T READ SWAPPED LIVES UNTIL I'VE FULLY REWRITTEN IT PLEASE. I may or may not consider posting a fanfic from the Fate series up here, but it all depends on when I get the rest of my stories done. Arigatou for your patience!

~HaloKeres-Chan


	18. Seize

The End Is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 17: Seize

He didn't flinch like I expected him to. Shadow merely raised an eye ridge. "So?"

"I'm somewhat nervous, I think." I said, lifting a hand and placing it against my heart. "What will it feel like, being erased from existence? Will it hurt? Will it be painless, or will I simply disappear without realizing it? What will others think when I disappear, or will they even notice that I'm gone?"

It was true. I was... _scared._ When had this desire to live sprouted within me? At first, I had _wanted_ do die, because there was nothing left for me in the land of the living. I aimed to save the world, and just went along with that, hoping that I would somehow kill myself along the way. My mindset was twisted, and still is. I flipped in between sadistic and masochistic, living and dying, hoping for light and falling into despair. One moment, I wanted to find an excuse to kill myself, and now I was afraid of disappearing from existence. I was such a sinful being.

Shadow stepped forward and rested his hand against my bangs. "I believe you wanted to die, had you not?" He said.

"I..." I swallowed. "I do want to die."

He knew it was a lie. He knew I'd lied since the very beginning. "Well," He began. "Then what does it matter that you'll cease to exist? It's different from dying, isn't it? Ceasing to exist is different from death, because unlike death, you won't be remembered. Things will continue as if nothing happened and you were never born. You'll disappear into void. In that way, it's like death, because you'll eternally sleep without dreams or the chance of waking up again. But disappearing all together means you'll have been forsaken by _God._ It's the worst thing you could ever feel."

I wanted to overlap his hand with mine, but for the fear of him pulling away what little warmth he had given me, I decided not to move. "I - ..." I started. I pursed my lips for a moment. "I do believe you. Fading away from everything is the worst thing that could ever happen to a person. You've...experienced it yourself, have you not?" I questioned, his dead irises flickering for a fleeting second. "When you arose from the dead, you realized you had, in fact, died. In that way, the two of us are similar. We're both dead, born of another's wishes."

"There's," I continued. "So much I still don't know. What is the Curse of the Banished Angel that darkness spoke of? Why am I gradually falling apart, both literally and figuratively? I want to die, but I want to live. I'm beyond mortality, but at the same time millenniums away from immortality."

Shadow brought forth his Chaos Emerald and pushed me to summon mine. "Do you know what Mobians called that? What Mobians called you?" He asked. He talked in past tense, and I understood why, because there was no one left but us in this ruined universe.

When I pulled the Emerald out of my soul, flames sparked all around me, enveloping me in the protection of a phoenix. We tapped our jewels together, and the two of us dissipated into light. Just as we did, Shadow whispered something.

 _"Mobians called beasts like you an unexplainable existence."_

* * *

When I opened my eyes, at first, darkness was all I could see. At first, I wondered if my eyes were closed, but repeated pinching and other such methods to..."shock myself awake," as others once said, I realized that I was indeed trapped in some sort of abyss. I tightened my grip on my - _Amy's_ \- Piko Piko Hammer and took a step forward. My footstep echoed across the black.

 _Who are you?_ Someone asked. _Who are you, and why are you here?_

I turned around, and like a virus, spirals of color sprayed across the inky darkness, dying it various shades of grey and destruction. I recognized the sight before me, for I'd lived in it after the world fell apart and the sky turned white. I froze when I saw the lookalike whose voice had whispered words of despair in my ear ever since the end.

Amy Rose stood before me, clutching her hands to her chests. She looked so much younger, so much more innocent, compared to me. Here I was, with my left eye veiled in veins of blood, my quills long, dirty, and disheveled, and an outfit she could never have dreamed of wearing. My gaze was dead, as was the rest of me, as I looked at her. I said nothing as her glowing, lively gaze flickered.

 _You,_ She said. _Are you -_

I silenced her by stepping forward, bringing her hammer up in front of her face. _I am not you, Child of the Forsaken,_ I said. Even if it was a name I came up with on the spot, it most certainly fit her. She was destined to sacrifice herself for a change that would never come into being. _I am the incarnation of your wishes. You doomed me to a dead existence._

Amy blinked and tilted her head. _Who are you? Why are you in my head?_ She questioned once again.

 _My name...was Amy Rose._ I started, earning a shocked expression. _However, it is now Astraea. I am here, because the world you live in will eventually come to an end._ I didn't know why I had come to possess Amy Rose's body, instead of gaining my own, but time had its ways, and it chose to put me here. There was nothing I could do now; my energy was sapped, and I didn't come here just to teleport back. I had hoped to work incognito, but now that this timeline's Amy Rose was aware of me, I had no choice. _I have come here with the future's Shadow the Hedgehog for the sake of preventing the sky from turning white and the dead to walk among the living._

 _What do you...What do you want from me?_ She asked.

 _There are many things I want from you, but there are three things I absolutely need you to do._ I numbered off my fingers one by one. _First, I need to temporarily possess your body while I am here. If not, you must abide exactly by what I say. Secondly, do not speak word of my existence to anyone you meet. Third, you must find Shadow the Hedgehog - the one from the future. Those are all that I ask of you, and if you succeed, the universe will be saved and I will leave your body._

Amy seemed hesitant, but I supposed that there was nothing else she could do. It was only natural; a lookalike of her suddenly appears and tells her to do three specific things in order to save the world. To be honest, I didn't know what my plan from here on out was, but all that mattered was that I was _here,_ in the past. I had gone three years back in time, to save the world that only gave me a worthless existence.

I must have been crazy. I couldn't help but laugh. I was so _worthless._

* * *

CHAPTER 17 IS UP, MY LOVELIES! I'M SO HAPPY!

What do you think so far? Was it good? Bad? Do some of you honestly don't care? Whatever. I'm a pedantic idiot, so if you notice any errors, notify me and I'll fix them. I'd look for a beta reader, but I really don't care much for that and it's easier if my readers tell me what they think is wrong.

NOTE: A new Fate fanfic will be uploaded once I've finished this and Swapped Lives! If I don't finish Swapped Lives, I may or may not put it up for adoption. Thanks everyone for the support!

~HaloKeres-Chan


	19. Interaction

The End is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 18: Interaction

It was on the third day of my possessing Amy Rose's body that she finally asked me.

 _Hey, Astraea. What is the future you come from like?_

I contemplated for a moment. In the time I had come to dwell in this girl's body, I had adapted to behaving like her so that her friends wouldn't notice. Amy was conscious the entire time, of course, and sometimes we had thought-conversations that helped us know the other better. It was...surprisingly helpful. I wondered if she only told me for the sake of preventing any suspicion from arising.

 _Well,_ I started. _To be frank, everything has disappeared. The sky has turned white because the clouds, the stars, the moon,_ everything _has faded away. Of the Mobian race, Sonic was the only one to survive. Everyone else gained the status of being deceased, and due to the chaos, now walk across the land of life. I had once fought with Tails and Cream, but the two were soon murdered and became members of the risen dead. I've yet to find the one who caused the destruction of this world, and because of us running out of time in the future, we had to come back._

Shockingly, I found it difficult to suppress the solemn tone in my voice. It was...scary, to say the least. The closest I'd ever gotten to lonely was monotone, but that was a voice that showed and hinted at no emotion. Was it perhaps due to the influence of Amy's heart? I felt what she felt, heard what she heard, and saw what she saw. If she felt guilty, something would settle in my stomach that I couldn't let go of. If Amy suffered from hatred or hurt, my chest would tighten and I'd find my eyes hot. I couldn't understand mortal feelings, and yet here I was, feeling them without comprehending the burden.

I didn't deserve such a gift.

 _Does that mean everything is disappearing?_

I nodded. _Essentially, yes. We don't know who is responsible for this, but...we have to find them, and soon._

Amy hesitantly replied, _Okay._

Silence elapsed between us for a moment.

 _Um,_ Amy started. _If Sonic was the only Mobian to survive, then why are you -_

 _I am not Mobian._ I cut her off. _I...had thought I was, but I'm not. There's much more to me than one of your caliber could realize._

I thought Amy would've retorted with something like, "are you insulting my intelligence," but she remained quiet.

* * *

When the presence of someone appeared behind me, I summoned Amy's Piko Piko Hammer immediately and whirled around. I relaxed when I saw Shadow - and it wasn't this time's Shadow, but the one I knew of. I took a breath and stepped back. "Shadow." I mumbled. I didn't let my guard down.

Shadow simply inclined his head. "It's me. It seems I have come to possess the body of my past self." He looked at his gloved hands, and I realized the truth in his statement. It wasn't because of appearance that I recognized him, but the coldness of his gaze set me off. I knew it was him the moment I looked at him. He certainly looked livelier, in the body of his younger self. Scars didn't cover every inch of him, and his eyes bore minimal light, if I didn't hallucinate. That was a _much_ better look on him than the one I'd grown so used to seeing.

"Your case is similar to mine." I said. I touched my - _Amy's_ chest. It's hard, remembering this body isn't mine. "I know I am not Amy, and that I should have a body of my own, but I guess the gods have their ways. They've allowed me to communicate with her, at the very least. It's helped me not draw attention to myself. What of you?"

"I had to seize control of this body by force, since my past self didn't have reason to believe me. I caused him minimal damage to the nerves, but he should be fine, aside from occasional headaches and loss of memory, anyway. With him being amnesiac enough as it is, though, I don't think it should cause much problem." His response was curt and blank.

I shrugged. "Well, we may as well start investigating. Where do you want to start?"

I may have come to life three years ago, in this time, but that didn't mean I knew my way around. I only found Shadow thanks to my sensing his Chaos Emerald. I simply followed it, and in a forest this dense, I could easily get lost. It's not like it mattered though. Simply asking around helped me, and when passersby said, "Amy, is something wrong?" I would ruffle Amy's bangs, force a smile, and reply, "Sorry, I just kinda blanked out for a second. I can't really remember a lot right now." They seemed to believe it, thankfully.

"Normally, that pesky doctor was - no, is the starter of all these pathetic schemes." Shadow corrected himself, and I could understand why. It was hard to remember that Eggman was still alive when we believed that he had died years ago. "I'll start by checking out the bases Southeast of here. Could you handle the opposing directions? I'd prefer to do it myself, but it wouldn't be useful to waste anymore time."

 _Same old Shadow,_ Amy said. _Even if he's from your time, Astraea, he hasn't changed._

 _Really?_ I replied. _How long have you known him for? I don't know that much about him._

 _A long time. He showed up a while ago as a part of Egghead's army, but then he became a neutral party, he and Sonic saved the world from getting blown apart by the ARK, an Eggman-shaped satellite, and he disappeared. We thought he was dead, but he came back around eventually. He's still all cold and tsundere though._

She seemed to snicker.

 _Tsun...dere?_

 _Oh, right! You don't know what that is, right?_

Shadow left, leaving me to have a conversation with her as I stared in front of me. I tousled with Amy's hair, and something suddenly made my chest constrict, something I couldn't quite understand.

There were so many things I didn't know, so many things I would never come to know. Everyone in the world Amy lives in is so carefree, so happy with how they live, completely unaware of the horrible future edging towards them. Amy knew of it, but how on my name could she still smile? Laugh? She didn't fall to her knees and scream and cry, like I expected her to. She just nodded, slightly distressed, and said she would do her best.

The hope of the world I was in was, in all honesty, _suffocating._

* * *

Finally back, everyone! Nothing new to report, except that TEIWWB is finally coming to a close. Only a couple more chapters, and the enemy will be revealed! Who started eradicating the universe? What is the Curse of the Banished Angel?

It's already almost been two years since this story's been up, and I'm honestly shocked that I've come this far. Thanks, everyone, for your support these past two years. I started as a total amateur with no writing ability whatsoever (nnnngh), but here I am now. Arigatou, guys. I can't really put how I'm feeling into words, but I mean it. Hopefully I'll continue writing for years to come.

~HaloKeres-Chan


	20. Clouds

The End is Where We Begin

Amy's Arc

Chapter 19: Clouds

 _"Are we all prepared, then?" She asked, eying the capsule with a sort of bitterness in her eyes. "It seems she's about to awaken."_

 _"Indeed she is, O Banished One." The scientist rubbed his gloved hands together in an anxious way. "It appears we don't have much longer before she opens those crystal clear, beautiful eyes of hers for the first time. I look upon that moment with great anticipation. What of you?"_

 _She laughed. It sounded manufactured. "You talk about the experiment as if she's a goddess. You are truly an interesting man." She walked towards the capsule and placed her bandaged hand on the glass. "To think that this is how everything will end. I hardly expected meeting my end this way, but I suppose this is how fate works. I do hope she doesn't fail me like all the other times she has, in this repeated time loop that never seems to end. It is difficult to know the fate of the world like this."_

 _The man's eyebrows furrowed. "Whatever do you mean, Banished One? I am afraid I do not understand what you are trying to say."_

 _"I don't expect you to." She answered, swiping her hand across the glass. It left bloodied fingerprints. It seemed her wounds had already started bleeding through. It wasn't like it would matter anymore soon enough. "This body is crumbling, little by little. I suppose it makes sense, with a being such as myself in the body of this mortal. Do you…remember the body before this one?"_

 _"I don't believe I do, Banished One. I ask that you forgive me." The man bowed, and looked almost ready to get on his knees. She waved her hand dismissively in response. She hated these types, the ones that were always pleasers and never had minds of their own. They had no personality and lacked, in essence, everything. "I do not mean to insult you."_

 _For the time being, though, she would play along. "Because of what you have accomplished for me, you are forgiven. The fate of the world is unbalanced, and you are deciding whether or not it will stay that way or come back into balance. Truly the feat. You may be considered the world's greatest hero, or the destroyer of all. I am surprised you've yet to crumble under the pressure."_

 _"For you, Banished One, it is nothing." The man continued. "I would do whatever I could to make certain your wish comes into reality. If I must become the villain or the hero, I will. I am but a faceless scientist, at your will."_

 _She smiled. "Thank you, Doctor. I do wish I knew your name."_

 _"I did have a name, once." The scientist turned back to the sleeping creature resting inside the capsule; a sakura-colored, anthropomorphic hedgehog, quills flowing in the bright liquid. She would be such a beauty, once she awakened, and they both thought so. "I was known to many as a man with an iron fist, who conquered nation after nation, continent after continent, in hopes of making my own world." There was no life in his eyes, not after she extracted it from him and made him her puppet to do with as she pleased._

 _She eyed the dead man walking with her piercing green eyes—rather, the eyes of the one she possessed. "You sound like quite the legend. Tell me," she held up her bandaged hand. "Did you know this body, this mortal?"_

 _"The one you possess is one I used to think of with great detest. I never thought of him as anything more than a thorn in my side; I could have nothing but bitter thoughts." The man looked at the creature in the capsule, and she knew, that he looked upon it with detest as well. She could understand why, after everything that had happened. "I never knew he would become your vessel, or that his body would last so long with so much decay."_

 _She turned away from the creature and looked at the window by the ceiling, so high above her. "What was his name?"_

 _"His real name was unknown, but…they called him Sonic."_

 _The clouds were gone. Replaced by heartless, cold white._

* * *

"There's nothing here, it seems." I said under my breath, lifting Amy's hammer and throwing it over my—her shoulder. "There was no point in looking in this 'Eggman's' base."

 _It was worth a shot, though, right?_ Amy asked, trying to remain optimistic. Even I could tell she was starting to lose it, getting more and more irritated. It seemed saving the world was a more difficult task than she thought it to be. If I had feelings, I'd consider it to be quite entertaining—at least, that's what I thought I'd do. _I mean, now you know there's nothing here, and that your enemy and potential world destroyer lies in wait somewhere else, right?_

 _I think you mean_ the _world destroyer, not its potential one._ I couldn't help but add in sarcastically, just to make sure Amy would not be influenced by my twisted thoughts of how horrifying her hope was. It was annoying, a nuisance, but I did my best to deflect myself from those thoughts so she wouldn't be able to hear them.

 _That's in the future, not right now._ Amy pointed out.

 _If that's how you see it._ I said back, clambering down from the pile of debris and turning to exit the base, despite the numerous amounts of robot henchmen gathering with their blasters.

 _Wait wait wait, hold on! What are you doing?_ Amy shouted at me, and my head pounded.

 _What do you mean, what am I doing?_ I asked, confused. _I was going to look for the source of our world's end. Is there some problem with doing so?_

 _Well, you—you can't just—you're not supposed to break into Eggman's base and just_ leave _it!_ Amy ranted.

 _Why not_? I didn't understand her logic.

Amy went quiet. _Oh. You actually have a point there. …Still! All these robots gather and you're just going to leave them alone?_

 _Well, they haven't tried killing me._ I said to her. _I have no business with them._ I started ignoring Amy after that, instead focusing on jumping down from heavy rock to heavy rock, making sure not to injure myself. I may have been a Banished Angel, but this body was mortal. It would not stand against an incredibly inhuman amount of damage like my body would.

I still did not know who my enemy in this battle was. There was a cruel, twisted darkness hidden within Sonic the Hedgehog when I last saw him, and it was interested in me and seemed to know me. I had never thought much of it, but I didn't know much about myself. I didn't know if, before the three years of my life that I remember, there was something else.

Perhaps I never existed that far back in the first place.

It was just a whim that came to my thoughts as I considered the possibilities, and it wasn't the first time I had that thought, but having come this far, I started believing that would be just the case. It was…a rather horrifying thought. Not knowing myself despite being fully aware of my origins, not understanding why I was there despite being able to fully comprehend it—that was my existence, and it was quite a horrible one.

 _You mortals of this time period take far too much for granted._

Amy seemed to gasp. _What do you mean_?

I blinked. _Did I…say that out loud? Forgive me, Amy. I did not mean to insult you or anyone else in any sort of way._

 _No, it's just—I've never had anyone say that to my face before. Well, not my face, considering where I am right now, but you know what I mean. And honestly, you're speaking the truth. We 'mortals' as you call us don't understand the value of anything until it's all gone._ She responded, and I could almost see the melancholic smile I felt as she said it. _We live in a peaceful world, but not even a year into the future, it'll all be gone. But it feels so far away, that I just can't bring myself to believe that it's real._

I did not respond to that. I turned around and headed back for the base. Amy asked me what exactly I was doing, but only when I started crushing robots to pieces with her hammer did she understand.

* * *

"Really, Amy, you need to take care of yourself better." Tails scolded me, taping another band-aid on to my cheek. "What exactly were you doing that got you scratched up that bad?"

I had ended up taking out the entire base that Amy and I had searched through earlier, finding the power generator and destroying it. The impact threw me across the forest I had come through to reach said base. Having crushed robot after robot to pieces beforehand—and alone, no less—it was a miracle I hadn't severely injured Amy's body in any way.

Trying to imitate Amy, I said, "Oh, well—um…I, uh, tripped?" I stuttered innocently, throwing on a nervous smile to boot.

Tails just stared at me and blinked a few times. "Are you _insulting_ me? Because it really feels that way you know." He huffs, turning back to the First Aid box, looking for some gauze and medicine for the vile-looking gash across Amy's forearm.

I rolled Amy's eyes. "Fine, fine. I encountered a mini battalion of Eggman's bots while I was taking a walk around today. Are you satisfied with that?" I lied straight through Amy's teeth. If he knew I had assaulted—and completely destroyed—an entire fortress myself, he would start asking questions. Questions were not needed, with how things were going.

Tails stared at me with half-lidded eyes. "Okay, at this point, I can't tell if you're mocking me or not. It's pitifully obvious that you're lying, but I guess you're not that far off. The cuts here look like they were made from some of Eggman's machines, and the singe along your dress is likely from the cannons."

I feigned concern. "Whaaaat?" I looked down at where the dress was singed and sighed hopelessly. "Awh! I really liked this one too!"

 _Amy, why must you be such a bad liar? Even if it's someone else possessing you, it's still quite obvious if you're lying or not._ I said.

 _Hey, don't be mean! I didn't choose to be born like that!_ Amy huffed back.

Tails sighed. "Just go get a new one, for God's sake." He rubbed the ointment onto Amy's gash and I flinched. "I'll never understand girls."

I made a pouty face and looked away. "Of course you won't!" Ah, this act was irritating.

The twin-tailed fox was quiet for a moment, and as he finished wrapping up the gauze around Amy's forearm, he turned and closed the First Aid kit. "Who are you?" He asked, voice cold.

I stared at him in surprise—genuine surprise, too. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't dodge the question. Who. Are. You?" Tails repeated. "You're not Amy. You're definitely doing a good job of hiding it—I could barely tell—but you're not her. Amy would never insult me, never lie to me. But you just went ahead and did it straight to my face. _Twice._ That deserves an explanation, don't you think?"

I closed Amy's mouth, and her bangs fell over her eyes, my eyes.

Amy seemed to be frantic. _Oh no! What do we do? Whatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedo—ah, he knows! Heknowsheknowsheknows—_

 _It's simple._ I told her. _We just explain what happened._

 _Yeah, yeah, that's fine—wait a second! Really?!_

 _Why wouldn't we? He already knows, doesn't he?_ I pointed out.

Tails glared at me. "Well?"

I looked back at him with the cold, horrifying eyes I'd always had. They seemed to shock him. I had done my best to hide them, but now I had felt so relieved to stop holding it back. "You are correct, Miles 'Tails' Prower. I am not Amy Rose. However, I am also her—for the moment, anyways." I gestured to Amy's body. "This body belongs to her. I have simply come to possess it after traveling from a future where nothing remains."

"What do you mean, 'nothing remains'?" He asks cautiously, his voice wavering on the edge of anger. "And what did you do to Amy?"

"I didn't do anything to her. She let me in of her own will." I said. "Of course," I brought Amy's hand up to her neck, threatening to choke it. "I could always just end her right here. I wouldn't be harmed, just sent back to my future, and you would have to suffer as this hedgehog dies right before you. I won't do it," I continued, "If you'll listen to what I have to say."

Tails bit his lip and eyed me nervously, as if calculating what to do. "Fine," he said, giving in. "I'll listen. What do you want to tell me?"

 _WHAT? You'd just kill me even after all this?_

 _Of course I wouldn't, Amy._ I responded. _I need your body. Killing it wouldn't do me much good. I'd like to test out the theory that maybe I could find myself my own body in this world, but it's just a theory. I'd lose more than I'd gain._

"This world, Mobius, will come to an end within the next year." I said, keeping it short.

Tails stared. "…Okay?"

That wasn't the reaction I expected, but I kept my cool. It made sense, considering how many times the world had been in jeopardy during this fox's lifetime. He came to taking this threat of 'the world will end' for granted because he has become so used to hearing it.

"I don't think you understand the weight of my words, Miles Prower." I added on. "It's not something simple, like the world getting destroyed or falling under the rule of Eggman. You are likely to think that it will be a simple ordeal to solve, considering the number of hospitable planets in this universe you could retreat to. You don't understand." My, Amy's voice seems to crack on those last words. "Everything except the space surrounding this planet is completely _gone._ It has _ceased to exist._ Once this world disappears, there will be no other ones left to go to. Everything is just disappearing into the void, and once it's all gone, there will be nothing left. No chance of a future should come back again, other than the one I've gained now."

Tails pressed a couple gloved fingers to his forehead and held his other one out in a signal to stop. "Hold up, please. Let me piece this together. You're saying that Mobius is going to cease to exist soon, and that you came from the future in order to fix it."

"Unfortunately," I interrupted him, "I am still not sure as to how I'll do so. I am still not aware of who my opponent in this battle for the future is. Shadow, the one from my future specifically, has come to this era with me to search for them, but we have made no leeway since we arrived in the past."

"So Mobius is going to disappear into nothingness. And you came back in time to fix it. But you still have no clue who you're trying to duke it out with."

"Yes." It was strange, talking to this Tails. The one from my future was so much different, so much more broken. It was hard to understand that they were the same person, the same existence.

"Okay. So, are we going to say anything to Sonic and the others about this?"

I wanted to hurl, hearing that name. "No," I said quickly. "We are not telling anyone else about this. It is already enough of a paradox as it is. Now," I brought Amy's hand to her throat again, "Will you join Shadow and I in this battle against time or not?"

Tails exhaled, but nodded. "Yeah. Sure." His voice trembled as he said it.

* * *

 _As her hand grazed the glass of the cylinder again, she was almost surprised by the minimal amount of blood staining it. She had become so used to seeing the crimson dye everything she touched, that it was a shock to see it in minimal amount. Then again, she had changed out the bandages earlier that day. There was no point in getting her hopes up that maybe, just maybe, she could live._

 _"Ah," she looked at the hedgehog in the cylinder. "There's not much time left." That was probably the millionth time she'd said it; it only served to explain how hopeless the circumstances had become. "I wish you the best of luck on this mission, my dear experiment."_

 _The hedgehog opened its crystalline eyes, just the slightest sliver. The other wasn't surprised; how many times had she seen those eyes open, seen them take in the sight of a hopeless monster? "Make sure that you complete it this time, okay?"_

 _It was stupid to ask; the creature would never understand her, not until falsified memories would teach it to speak. Those memories wouldn't reach the creature, not until they reached an age where she had lost herself to the powers that cursed, cursed child had given her._

 _"This is the…" she trailed off, and almost laughed. "I've lost count of how many times we've both failed, you and I."_

 _Those words didn't sound right, coming out of the mouth of the one she'd possessed. The voice of a young hedgehog boy, who hadn't even reached sixteen before he left the world, wasn't hers. "Please make sure you succeed this time. Please, please, please."_

 _She grew ever more desperate by the second, and she—no, maybe they both knew it, both her and the creature that was prepared to breathe its first breath when the time came. Perhaps they were both aware that they'd fail again this time too, that this attempt would only be another one lost to this time loop that never seemed to break._

 _"Please, please, please." Her cries grew into weakened sobs as bloody tears rained down her cheeks. She fell to her knees, feeling the bandages unravel, revealing the decaying skin and the mottled muscle beneath and the blood—oh the blood. Thebloodthebloodtheblood—_

 _The hedgehog's eyes slid shut._

 _"Hurry up." She muttered, pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes to keep the warmth in them from continuing. "Please make sure you accomplish your mission, Astraea, reincarnation of that wretched Amy Rose. Please…make sure you kill me."_

 _The clouds outside crumbled into the white._

 _No, that wasn't right._

 _They had already disappeared._

* * *

Ohmygodithasbeensolongsinceipostedsomething-

Ahem. Excuse my lack of composure. Hello, it's HaloKeres-Chan, and I'm alive hoohaha! I'm a lazy bum, I'm sorry, forgive me, _but._ I come back with a great chapter, and it's longer than my usual chapters. I only realized recently how horrifyingly short they were. Oh goodness me. Remember, I know I'm a bad kid who doesn't keep promises, so keep in mind that I just post whenever I feel like it. I don't want to limit myself like that, not with all the hectic events happening in my everyday life. But, for those of you who've stayed this long, waiting for me to post, thank you so much. It makes me happy, knowing that there are people who actually like these trashy stories of mine. Thank you.

~HaloKeres-Chan


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